Of Mischief and Madness
by fantasy-elf
Summary: For Jessie Manning, it was just another party, another gala she and her father had been invited to in Germany. She knows what to expect. However,what she did not expect was an emerald eyed god of mischief to show up and turn her world upside down. LokixOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So… I've become totally obsessed with both the Thor and Avengers films so I've decided to write a fanfic consisting of our favourite God of Mischief – Loki. This is a Loki + OC Story! Rating is set at M because there will be some juicy scenes later on in the story ;0)**

**WARNING!: This fanfic follows closely to the storyline of the Avengers film, so if you haven't watched it yet you might not want to read this as it will have spoilers in it.**

**Summary: Jessica Manning is from a wealthy and respected family. One evening she goes to a gala in Germany with her father. She knows what to expect. Luxury. Elegance. Delicacies. But what she did not expect was a raven haired god with glacial emerald eyes to show up and turn her world upside down.**

**So here it is, Chapter 1 of my brand new story called 'Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Let me know what you think of it so far!**

**Enjoy :0)**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

-o-o-o-o-o-

People surrounded me. Everywhere I turned, I bumped or jostled into someone, every now and then I would feel an elbow or a foot nudge against me in the throng of wandering bodies. The hall I was standing in was huge and on a grand scale, but even the enormous space could not contain the amount of people trying to step their way into and around the room.

I hated parties. I was not much a partygoer person, I did not enjoy being in the company of lots of people. Especially people I did not know. Faces surrounded me, yet most of them I did not know or recognise; these people were foreign to me.

_Jessica Ann Manning, why did you agree to come here?_ I thought to myself with chagrin. I decided mentally in that second that I should have stayed at home, with my cat, watching television or reading a book. _Why did I let my dad drag me into doing this again?_

I scanned the crowd, tiptoeing so that I could peer over the masses for the familiar face that was my fathers. This was all his doing. He had asked me to come, nay, practically begged it of me. He was a rich and well-respected member amongst the higher classes. He used his abundance of wealth to invest into businesses and projects around the world. His latest invests being a group of geoscientists who spend most of their time testing and researching any rare resources or materials that they find in or on the earth. This kind of heavy science was not exactly my cup of tea; in fact, to be brutally honest I hated sciences too. The only reason I had decided to come here was for my father, for I was his wealthy young daughter, the apple of his eye so to speak. He had no wife, for my mother died when I was eight of cancer. She had been a wonderful parent, loving, attentive and an even better wife. She would always come to these parties with my dad and together they would charm and talk their way through higher society. Since her death, I had made it my job, my responsibility to accompany him to these galas. I wanted to make him happy. I wanted to make him proud, but I never really understood until now of how out of my depths I would feel.

They surrounded me. People finely dressed in silks, suede's and satins. Pearls gleamed around throats, diamonds glittered from ears, silver flashed from cufflinks. They all spoke to each other so clearly and crisply.

I felt out of place. This wasn't me.

Glasses tinkled as a small group people toasted to one another. A woman brushed passed me and I looked to the side to see her sauntering away towards her gentleman friend on the other side of the room. Her rounded hips swayed in her red dress. The fur around her neck bobbed with each step. Her heels clicked. Her blonde silky hair swayed. She looked stunning.

I looked down briefly at myself and grimaced. The dress I wore was pretty, the only one I had in my wardrobe if I was brutally honest. It was knee length and was white with a simple black floral design on it. I also wore a black cardigan, some low silver heels and some silver jewellery to try to compliment it all. My hair, long and brown, was curled up into a tidy bun at the back of my head. Overall, I looked 'nice'. This morning when I had been readying myself for the party I had thought I had looked the doggies danglies, but since the moment I had arrived to this grand manor, filled with rich and pretty people, I was beginning to feel like I resembled something out of the Adams family.

I was not a vain person, though I wanted to make an effort for my father for appearance sakes. I simply felt I would have rather preferred coming in a pair of jeans and a jumper.

" Jessie?" A person called from my side suddenly. The voice was soft, masculine and definitely familiar to me.

I felt a smile spread across my face as I turned and watched the man I had come love and cherish like a grandfather walk towards me. He gait was uneven, crooked and slow in his elderly age. His hair the last time I had seen him had been greying, but now it was completely white and balding at the top. He wore a pale off white long coat and a fresh fitting black suit underneath.

" Harry Hilton," I greeted to him warmly as I stepped towards him and let him embrace me, " How are you?" I asked politely and then stepped away to smile into his greying eyes, " How have you been?"

" Oh, I am well thank you," He said, waving his hand as though to warn me off from fussing over him, " But look at you," he leant back and grazed me over with his eyes, assessing me, " You look wonderful, my girl, you look like an angel standing there. If I did not know any better I would have thought it was your mother standing there."

I smiled and I felt my cheeks warm, though I knew secretly that harry was simply being polite; his memory was slowly diminishing with every event that I saw him. I knew I looked more like my father than I did my mother. I had her pale complexion and short height, but I had my father's dark eyes and hair, and his stubborn personality.

I loved the old man standing before me. He had and has been a friend of my fathers for a very long time. He would often visit us when I was a child and he would read me stories and take me fishing with him in the summer months. I had not been much of a fishing person but I enjoyed the company and the fresh air; as I was an only child and did not have many friends to play with. Only the ones my father approved of.

" You look deep in thought, my dear," The sound of Harrys voice snapped me out of ponderings as I looked into his knowing features, " I know that look, I know it very well in fact," He sighed and looked at me sadly, " If you dislike these meetings so much then why do you come to them, precious?"

I shrugged and simply stated, " You know why, Harry."

" For your fathers sake?"

I nodded.

" Dearest, your father loves you," He laid a hand gently on my shoulder, " He loves you regardless of whether you are here or not. You do not need to coddle him, he can take care of himself."

I remained silent, not saying anything, unable to say anything.

" Speaking of which, " Harry piped up again, removing his hand, "Where is James?"

" He's in the other hall, speaking with the others," I frowned, " Although I have to admit that I haven't seen him for a while."

Harry nodded in understanding and turned to me suddenly, " Come with me, Jessie. I have some friends I would like to introduce you to." He turned to the side and indicated to a guy in an immaculate white suit and the woman in the red dress from earlier. The guy was watching everyone judgingly as he spoke to his friend beside him. The woman was smirking along with them whilst fiddling with her jewellery and sipping at a glass of champagne. Overall, they did not appear very welcoming and pleasant.

Before I could let Harry take my arm and guide me towards them I took a step back and said, " No, I'm alright thank you," I saw the disappointed look in his aged face and tried to remedy it by saying, " I just need to use the bathroom, so, you go ahead and enjoy yourself."

Harry, bless his soul, looked doubtful, disbelieving for a moment, " Will you join us when you return?"

I nodded, " You bet," I lied easily, " Don't get partying without me." I joked lightly to him and he chuckled at me.

Satisfied with my answer, I watched as Harry turned away and moved towards the small group and began to talk with them. In the meantime, I pushed forward, trying to slide my way through the forest of bodies until I reached the grand curved staircase at its centre. My heeled shoes tapped against the marbled surface as I took each step to the top.

When I reached the top I took a deep cleansing breath and glanced over the banister to down below. From here I could see everyone, all the people conversing and laughing with one another. I could see the band of violinists playing from the side of the hall. I could see the buffet table, the front doors, the various large thick columns that stood throughout the hall and the large crystalline chandelier above. From here, I felt safe, like a bird watching the world from its nest. I no longer felt suffocated or strangled with people.

_This had been a mistake,_ I stated it mentally to myself, _I should have stayed at home_. I was not really a 'party' or 'people' person. As a child, I grew up in the quiet villages of Cornwall in England my parents. Most of the schools I attended were either 'all girls' ones or ones where all the other rich kids were educated. I spend most of my free time alone, reading or painting some ridiculous piece of art to stick in the little gallery room we had at the time. I hardly made any friends; I was too shy and too quiet for that. And now, here I was, in a building teeming with people and I knew none of them, and they did not know me. They only knew me as James Manning's spoilt little girl who had every she could possible want in life.

I hated it.

I sighed lowly to myself and turned heading towards the bathroom where I cool my face off and spend most of my time sitting on the toilet, wondering when this nightmare would end.

My feet where light against the carpet underneath them, I could barely hear a sound as they stepped across the hallway. I glanced over the white balustrade again, watching warily to see if anyone was looking up at me. No one did, they were so involved in one another that they did not notice me slinking away to my hiding spot.

I took another couple of steps, a few escaped strands of my hair billowed as I moved. A small smile stretched across my lips.

And then came the footsteps.

They were sharp, echoing and heavy around the hallway. The sound resonated around me drawing my attention away from the hall below to the person who had suddenly appeared and was making their way towards me from the other side of the hallway.

It was a man. He was tall, very tall in fact, even from a distance. He wore a black suit consisting of a dark pair of trousers, a black waistcoat and black jacket that hung down to his legs. His hair was long, to his shoulders, and was styled in a slicked back fashion that made the ends look like the tips of a raven's feathers. Around his neck was tie that matched it dark clothes. Along with the tie was a scarf like piece of material that was green with various strange designs on it. As he stepped closer I realised he was not looking at me, but over the railing to the people murmuring below.

I took the time to examine him further. As he stepped nearer, I noticed he was surprisingly handsome. His features were pale, slender and soft looking. Though even from here, I could see dark shadows gracing the planes of his face, giving him an almost haunted or otherworldly appearance.

His hands were bare, but in one hand was a strange hip length cane. On its tip was an odd, almost glowing, blue emblem.

He was strange. In all the times I had come to these fancy parties, I had never seen someone like him before, not ever. He looked calm and confident in his step, yet I could see the fierce determination gleaming from his face as he watched the people below us. It was a cold look, sneering, almost calculating.

In that very instance, I suddenly felt like I did not want to be in same building let alone the same room as him.

I glanced about look for a door to step through, wanting to move away without drawing attention to myself.

But, before I could take another step forward, the man's head turned and his gaze landed onto me.

I felt a chill run through me, engulfing me, trickling over me like the fine sheens of a spider's web.

His eyes were green. Not just 'green' green. But stormy and dazzlingly vibrant green. Their brightness took me aback for a moment and before I could help myself, I found myself staring at him.

_He was beautiful. _

I felt my body heat up as I realised he was staring at me just as intently. Though my heat soon gave way to a trembling iciness as I noticed he was also smiling at me.

No, not smiling. He was smirking at me. It was a hollow and chilling motion of the lips that made me feel very small and insignificant in comparison to him. I felt like I was no longer the spoilt little rich girl, but a mere prey, a servant beneath him, and he the master.

For some strange and obscure reason, this irritated me. I felt my back stiffen indignantly and before I could stop myself I was lifting my chin and glaring at him full on as we stepped closer together, almost within reached distance. My dislike for his behaviour fuelled me as I challenged him. Hell, I may have not like parties, I may be from a well-resourced family and I may be shy in personality - but I was not a push over, or a coward.

I heard him chuckle, lowly. It was a light but chilling sound from the cavity of his slim chest.

I took another step. And then another. And then another.

We passed each other but did not brush against one another. I felt the air around me stir as I moved passed him; It felt colder, almost threatening. I turned away, facing forward towards the bathroom door, my destination, my sanctuary.

" Good evening." It came from _him, _from behind me now. His voice was airily light, almost playful but with a crispness to it that caused me to shoot around and look at him.

Only… he was not there. The hallway was empty.

I felt my spine tingle with unease.

_Where has he gone?_ I pondered to myself silently, glancing around to try to catch a glimpse of him, but I could not see him at all. Now that, was freaky. One moment he had been there, standing beside me, and now suddenly he was gone. I was half thinking I had imagined it all, that I had conjured him up in my head, but the tell-tale chill in the air and the racing of my heart beat told me otherwise.

Unease rippled at my spine and before I could think anything else of it I practically ran towards the ladies bathroom door and shot inside. I stepped into a cubicle and locked the door behind me, leaning against it as I tried to gather my thoughts.

_That had been so strange. It was almost as though he had just… disappeared!_

I shook my head to rid myself of those ridiculous thoughts.

_Get a grip of yourself Jessica, you're twenty years old, people do not just vanish into thin air. That is impossible! …Isn't it?_

I lifted a hand to my head, feeling for the heated skin but only found coolness. No, I was not ill. I had not imagined it. I knew that, more than anything. The guy had been so strange. He had been gorgeous, yet at the same time chillingly frightening.

Whoever he was, he had seemed important. He had held himself with an air of arrogance and pride that not many actors could have mustered easily. However neither of it mattered, I was safe in my cubicle for the next couple of hours until the party finished. After that, I would not have to come here for another few months and I would not have to meet _him_ again.

I frowned slowly to myself, feeling puzzled.

Yet then why did I feel like this was only the beginning. I felt something stirring, in my mind and in the core of being, telling me that this was just the start of something. I had a funny feeling that I would meet the emerald eyed man again, and when I did something was going to happen.

Something spectacular…

Something terrifying.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I forgot to add in chapter one – I do not own any of the Original characters or its plotline, they are all the marvellous creations of Marvel Comics and Paramount Pictures. The only part I have created myself are my OC's and any events that are added to the story.**

**I just want to say a huge thank you to all of you who read, review and added me onto your list of favourites. I was overwhelmed by the amount of emails I received in the first 2 hours of posting the chapter. So… Thank you, you are all amazing!**

**WARNING!: This fanfic follows closely to the storyline of the Avengers film, so if you haven't watched it yet you might not want to read this as it will have spoilers in it.**

**So here it is, Chapter 2 of my brand new story called 'Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Let me know what you think of it so far!**

**Enjoy :0)**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

-o-o-o-o-o-

I splashed the chilly water against my face, trying to wash out the tiredness in my eyes and cool my cheeks. My hands were braced either side of the porcelain sink as I lifted my dripping face and stared at myself in the mirror directly in front me. The illuminating light above showed the smooth plains of my skin and the darkened irises of my brown eyes. Without needing to look I reached to the side for the towel and dabbed my face dry.

_This was madness_, I thought to myself suddenly, glancing about the empty bathroom. _Why am I here?_

How long I had been in here, I had no idea. Not long, although it felt like lifetime. It had been my intent to stay here, to hide away until the end of the party. That is what I did. That is what I always did at these sort of events. I was not one for mingling and getting to know people. I did not want to know them. Most of the people downstairs had seemed either snobbish or had already based their opinions on me by who my father was and what he did for a living. It was always the case. That is how it has always been, all these long years. Whether it was at school, in a job or at events such as these; I was always 'James daughter', the spoilt and coddled child. But that was not the truth, or rather should I say, that was not who I was entirely.

I sighed to myself and rubbed a hand across my face, a heavy lump was forming in my body, a weight of some kind that I could not understand but I felt it every time I thought of my life and what it would hold for me.

I looked up and stared at my reflexion once again, my eyes roving around my features, slowly, assessing.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the door flew open and two tall leggy women came running into the room. I paused and stared at them as they stared at me. They looked surprised at finding someone here, but the surprise soon gave way to something else. It was fear. Downright, tear inducing fear. I did not have much time to do or say anything because within the next instant they were darting for a cubicle together. Their legs wobbled under their heeled feet as they moved.

" Quickly, get inside!" I heard the blonde say to the brunette, " Where's my phone! I've got to phone Mark!"

" What the fuck is going on!" I heard the other reply just as desperately, sounding almost to the point of weeping.

I frowned, stunned and confused for moment, but then I began to notice something else. I turned my head towards the door that was still slightly open and walked towards it carefully. As I stepped nearer what I could _hear_ intensified and I felt my body begin to tense up with unease.

There were loud voices coming form outside, flowing up the stairs from the hallway I had just been in a while ago. Screams and shouts resonated and echoed straight to the canal of my ears. There was so many of them, both male and female. I could hear things being banged, being knocked or being moved in haste. I could hear footsteps stepping, no, running across the wooden floor. Voices called, shouted, cried and scream in what I could only describe as utter terror.

" _Quickly! Get out!"_

" _Oh my god, he's coming!"_

" _Run! Fucking run!"_

_What on earth was going on? _I thought to myself, my own panic setting in as I stepped out of the bathroom and into the hallway outside. From here, I could hear people running, shouting and crying. The sounds were fading away as though into a distance.

With haste I stepped up towards the balustrade, only to see the entire hall was empty, no one was around. However, tables were turned over, food and drink was spilled across the wooden floor, chairs were on their sides as though an earthquake had just hit it.

I felt dread settle in my stomach like a rock but it soon gave way to spine tingling fear when I noticed the man laying prostrate and helpless on a carved display stand at the centre of the room. From my above viewing point I could see he was unconscious, draped across the surface like animal placed up for a sacrifice, his head was covered with blood as though he had been bludgeoned to death.

I gasped, trying to gather my erratic breathing. My chest was painfully tight with anxiety and dread.

Without thinking of what I was doing, I ran and shot down the marble stairs to the unconscious bleeding man. I gasped in horror as I looked at him.

" Oh my god!" It came out a breathless whisper from my lips as I stared at him.

He looked old enough to be in his fifties even more probably. His neat black suit was splattered with blood. Unlike my first thought that had been hit across the face, upon closer look I could see that it was in fact his eye that was bleeding. Or rather what was left of it. One of his eyes was swollen, seeping crimson liquid from the gashes that surrounded its socket. It was almost as though someone had tried to gauge his eye out with something sharp. Luckily for me I could see he was still breathing; which was good as I did not know any first aid techniques. Without thinking about it, I shook off my cardigan and balled it up tightly before placing it on the man's face gently. I knew that I had to stop the bleeding and call an ambulance if he was going to survive.

My next task was to find a phone.

With wide and panicked eyes I looked around trying to desperately find a phone somewhere in the room. I stepped away sharply, intending to head into the other room to try to find one.

_I need to call an ambulance and the police,_ I chanted almost to the point of hysterics to myself.

An earth shattering bang came out of nowhere. It rattled the windows and doors. The floor trembled under my feet and the chandelier above my head swung dangerously on its bolt in the alcove ceiling. A bright searing flash of light seared at me through the window, the explosion making me jump in my shoes.

I was scared. Utterly painstakingly terrified.

I could hear them; the screams coming from outside once again. I could practically taste and feel their horror through them. I turned towards the large double doors that were partially still open and headed towards them. I followed the sounds; the sound of cries and running feet.

_No, turn away, Jessie_, my mind tried to convince me, _Call the police! It's dangerous!_

" I said…" A masculine voice reached me from behind the door, " KNEEL!"

The shout came so suddenly, so loud and clear, so fierce that all the commotion outside stopped and an empty silence took a hold of the area.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. My footsteps were light as I tried to move as quietly as possible. I reached out and slowly pried open the door and peered out into the dimly light street outside.

What I saw would haunt me forever until my dying day.

There they were, all of them, the guests from the hall. I could make out the blonde-haired woman with the red dress and her male partner. I could see the bartender and several of the violin players. I could even see Harry in his beige over coat amongst the large group that was slowly lowering themselves into a submissive kneeling position.

The thing, or rather person standing over them, was something and someone I had never seen before in my life. It was obviously a man, for he was tall and slender looking despite all the heavy black and green armour he wore. From the back, I could see his helmet (that's right, a helmet!), it was a large and heavy looking thing made of a metal that glinted gold and had two thick looking horns protruding highly from the top. His cape (let me repeat, he wore a cape!) was a deep forest green colour that trailed down to the heels of his leather black knee high boots.

But in despite of all of that, it was his spear that caught my eye. It was a long as the man's body length, even more so. It looked to be made of some hard metal that flowed up and curved round in a dangerous tipped blade. Amongst its sharpened edge was glowing bluish emblem that reminded me suddenly of something. Or someone. But I could not put my finger on it.

_Who the hell was this guy?_ I blinked a few times, hoping the strange being would disappear and a normal man would take his place; a terrorist or a robber maybe? Surely, I was imagining him. People, creatures like him did not exist. He looked sleek yet at the same time menacing, and that was just from my view from the back.

I watched the scene unfold as the armoured being stepped towards the crowd, delving between the kneeled bodies as he spoke to them.

" Is not this simpler?" He asked them, lowly, mockingly as he strode lazily amongst them, " Is this not your natural state? It is the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation." He took another step into the mass, " The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power." He reached out a pale hand to them, as though offering mercy, " For identity." He tilted his head at them, " You were made to be ruled. In the end…" I heard the hollow laughter in his voice as he finally stated, "… you will always kneel."

From my hiding spot I could see the various heads bowed low, not giving the man standing over them eye contact. Their faces were frightened and pale as the trembled in their positions on the road. All of them were keeping still, deathly still, refusing to move the slightest inch.

All except _one_ person.

Out of the huddle of bodies, one man stood up, slowly, carefully. His body was withered with age yet he had managed to raise his chin and stand proudly before the towering creature before him.

It was only until the elderly man spoke, did I realise who it was.

" Not to men like you." The older man voice was low and weak in sound, but steady. His greying eyes glimmered at the other man with a look that could only be described as 'challenging'.

It was Harry. Harry Hilton. My father's long-time colleague and one of the few friends I had ever had. Panic surged through me like a flame of fire. Harry was like a grandfather to me and I suddenly felt an overbearing need to rush to his aid and stand in front of him, to protect him.

" There are no men like me," The armour man stated, with sneering confidence.

I watched, horrified, as Harry shook his head at him, refusing his claim, " There are always men like you."

I felt my throat clog suddenly with pride for the old man. Even when I was a child, he was always so proud and strong willed. The perfect role model. But now he was doing something spectacularly brave. He was standing up against this strange and otherworldly man who was towering over them; intimidating and threatening them. And he, my dear old Harry, was the only one who was courageous enough to face him.

Before I could smile, however, I saw the taller man lift up his spear, its pointed tip glowing vibrant, a blue light surging through the emblem. He pointed it at Harry, directly at his chest.

His chuckle, short and humourless, echoed around the silent street as he said, " Look to your elder people," His spear surged violently, growing in intensity, thrumming with dangerous power, "Let him be an example." He lowered his head slightly, and began to aim…

I was out of the door in an instant and running towards them.

" Stop!" A voice cried suddenly out of the blue, " That's enough!" It was not until all eyes turned towards me did I realise it was me that had called out.

My feet skidded to halt a few metres away from the crowd. My heart stammered and my breathing was heavy with fear and adrenaline. I looked to Harry, my eyes telling him that everything was going to be alright, that I was there. He smiled softly at me.

My smiled died when I turned to the tall imposing figure of the armoured man. He was still in position, ready to attack, but now his head was turned towards me. His pale face was a mix between surprise and intrigue as he watched me intently with glittering green eyes.

No, not just 'green' eyes. They were a stormy and dazzlingly vibrant green. Like molten emeralds.

I reeled back a step as I became overwhelmed with dread over what I had just done, and then confusion as the armoured man smirked at me, and then finally fear as I realised something even more terrible.

The shock hit me with full force as though it was a solid tangible thing. All I could do was stare at _him_.

I recognised this man.

It was _him_!

This was the same strange man from the hallway!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: A huge thank you to all of you who faved and reviewed, your comments are so motivating and they cheer me up no end :0)**

**So here is chapter 3 of my brand new story 'Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Bit of a longer chapter this time ;0)**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Please don't forget to favourite, comment and review!**

**ALSO! A question for you guys (as you are my wonderful readers). In my past stories I have done the narrative as completely 1st person POV, from only one character… Would you like to read about Loki's POV as well? Or would you rather keep to reading about Jessie views and keep Loki's intentions and thoughts mysterious? The choice is yours! Let me know which you would like to read! :0)**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

I stood there frozen to the spot, unable to move, unable to think or even breathe. _He_ was looking right at me. The armoured man's helmet was turned towards me. His vibrant forest green eyes were pinned on me as though I was some rare specimen of insect pinned under his gaze for scientific inspection. His hunched and aggressive body stance straightened a little, as the hand holding his illuminated spear slackened somewhat in surprise at my sudden appearance.

Every set of eyes was turned towards me. It felt like ages in that they all sat there watching me, taking me in, but in fact it was only the briefest of seconds. It felt like a lifetime to me, a lifetime of having that pale angular face peering at me, observing me with the intensity of a serpent.

None of us had time to do anything, to move, to blink or to even breathe.

Out of nowhere a large red and blue heavy looking disc came flying across the courtyard and slammed into the jaw of the man's face. The impact was instant. The armoured man reeled back, his helmeted head snapping to one side at the attack of metal on flesh.

I blinked, stunned for a second and then twisted my head in time to the disc spin towards another figure standing amongst the crowd. The new man caught the disc and held it before himself and Harry like a protective shield.

I blinked again, growing even more surprised by the second.

I knew this man as well! Well, not personally, but I had heard of him. The new man stood there in a tight fitting outfit which consisted of the colours red, white and blue. The half mask on his face could not hide the strong chin and determined eyes from beneath. The white star, both on his chest and on his shield told me exactly who this man was. He was a legend. A man made of stories and memories. My father had been a huge fan in his teens and had collecting various cards, pictures and comics of him – he still had them, in fact, stored away safely in near mint condition.

I felt a huge grin spread on my face as excitement pulse through me.

This man was Captain America!

I looked back in time to see the taller armoured man move his head slowly back into position, his spare hand holding his chin as he glared menacingly at his new opponent.

" You know," Captain America stood up and began to walk towards him, challenging him, " the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

"Ah," Green eyes chuckled suddenly, softly, cunningly, " The _soldier_… A man out of time."

The Captain stopped and shook his head in a confident manner, "I'm not the one who's out of time."

I felt the aircraft before I actually saw it. It came down from somewhere behind me. The wind it caused whipped against my body causing my loosened hair to fly in all directions. It came sliding across the midnight sky and lowered closer to the ground. Its dark shape began to take form like some giant camouflaged bat. The creaking of mechanics met my ears as a set of doors opened from underneath the aircrafts belly and revealed a gun-like weapon, which was aimed solely at the golden horned male.

" Loki…" A voice, feminine and clear, came from the aircraft and echoed all around us, "… drop the weapon, and stand down."

Before the voice could even finish speaking, the man (Loki? Did she call him?) aimed his long spear at the ship and send a searing ray of blue fiery energy towards it.

My jaw dropped. _Holy mother of… Who the hell was this guy?_

The aircraft, despite being large and heavy, outmanoeuvred the shot and swerved neatly to one side.

Captain America, taking his chance, shot forward and began an attack on the taller male.

Within seconds, the crowd of kneeling people were up and running to the side, running for the lives whilst screaming and shouting for one another.

Without thinking, I ran forward towards Harry, who was looking a little lost and weary in his standing position. I made it to him and grabbed his arm and elbow, trying to keep him upright. I tried to whisper to him that 'everything was going to be alright' and that 'we were safe now'. He seemed to neither hear me nor see me; the stress was taking its toll on him. I tried to guide him, tried to pull him gently with me, letting him lean on me as we walked but it seemed to take forever. I was struggling to keep him with me and he looked to be on the verge of falling unconscious or passing out. Fortunately for me, two other men appeared, pausing in their sprint for the huge manor, and took him from me, carrying him with each of his arms draped over their shoulders.

" Thank you, " I said to each of them, encouraging them to be gentle with him as he was very weak.

I began to follow behind them, but then stopped when I saw that Captain American was being thrown across the stone courtyard. His body fell and rolled onto one side in pain. His chest heaved with the struggle to breathe. His uniform was now looking faded and covered with dust from the ground. It seemed that the armoured man was much stronger and quicker than him. Every hit or kick that the superhero tried to make to him was either batted away or blocked easily only to be rewarded with a sound swing of a fist or the slice of a pointed blade.

I watched, torn with indecision, as the man, Loki, slowly prowled towards the fallen Captain. His pointed and slender features a mix between delight and pure malice.

Before I could stop myself, I was moving. I had to do something; I had to help, somehow. I looked around, my eyes desperate to find something, anything to use as a weapon. A few metres away from me lay a flowerbed that edged the perimeter of a water fountain in the shape of a Grecian goddess. I was at it in an instant; my heels clicking as I practically sprang across the distance and delved my hand into the flowery display to find a fist sized smooth rounded pebble.

I found one and gripped its heaviness with a long fingered hand. I shot around to face the fighting pair with such a force that the world span around me and whirled around within my vision.

My gaze landed on the two strange guys. The captain was still on the floor, slowly trying to right himself up, to raise himself into an upright position. The other man, in the green and gold armour, was cleverly stepping towards him, his bladed spear rising to press against the back of the others masked head.

" Kneel." He commanded, his voice a mixture between deadly softness and gravelly coarseness.

Without thinking. Without pausing. I reached back my hand, my body twisted with the motion as without thinking twice, I threw the pebble in my hand with all my might.

I was not very good a throwing, never had been. However, the moment the heavy stone left my hand, I felt my breath seize in my chest. The world around me slowed until all I could do was watch that rounded grey sphere soar across the space, directly towards the armoured male.

Bullseye! It hit its mark. The thing thudded against the back of the man's helmet. The impact was so sharp, so sudden that the metal 'tinged' and rang like the tapping of a hammer on a bell. It pierced the moment, all motions stopped and the entire atmosphere throbbed with a sudden empty silence.

The man, Loki, bending over Captain America, straighten suddenly. His shoulders levelled. His helmet tilted in a manner as though he was taken by surprise by what had just happened. He lowered his head down towards the pebble near his booted foot an then, ever so slowly, he turned directly towards me. Crystalline jade coloured eyes narrowed at me. I felt fear grip at my spine like a fist. His gaze roved over me, with cold detachment and disbelief, as he slowly rotated his body fully around and began to walk towards me.

_Well done Jessie_, I berated myself silently, _Now you're going to die._

His gaze was so direct, so intense that whenever I met it head on I felt like I was being frozen from the inside, like he could see right into the vast caverns of my mind, like he knew the deepest things about me and more.

He took another step, and then another, and then another. With wide eyes, I glanced around myself, trying to find something, trying to think of way to defend myself. A smile crept across his handsome face; a cold, calculating and sneering smile that made me feel little and weak compared to him. He was prowling steadily over to me, his steps slow and confident as though he knew I was trapped and that he was taking his time to savour the moment, to savour the fear that must have been evident in my face.

I opened my mouth, about to make a sound of distress but before the sound could even clear its way out of my throat, he had moved. His body blurred in a streak of golden light. One moment he was standing a good couple of metres away and the next he was directly in front of me.

_Impossible!_

My eyes widened further. My heart stammered. My pulse raced as I looked up at him. Good god, he was tall! I took after my mother in being short in height, but this man before me made me feel like a child. He towered over me like a gold and emerald raven. Without counting his horned helmet, he stood a good head and half taller than me. My neck had to crane back in order to keep our gazes connected.

His pale hand shot out, like the striking a snake and wrapped around the slender column of my throat. My own hands shot up, gripping his wrist guards, trying to scramble and prize off his powerful long fingers. He squeezed, in warning, and slowly began to lift me up, drawing me to the tip of my toes so that I was almost dangling.

" Such a meddling little mortal." He sneered down at me, so close that I could feel the iciness coming from his form, it wrapped around me, dragging me in, chilling me to my core, " You will regret testing me."

I gasped uselessly, trying to drag in as much air as possible. I could feel my lungs burning, my body growing limp. All I could do was stare at him, helpless, weak and suffering under his merciless hand. In the corner of my eyes, I could see the aircraft moving, weaving from side to side, trying to find the time and the moment to shoot at my captor.

It was then that I heard it.

There was music. Loud music. It began to fill my ears, lowly at first, and then it grew louder until it was booming all around us. I could just make out the singers words as an odd flaming object came soaring through the sky and directly towards us.

_Shoot to thrill, play to kill, I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will. Yeaaah!_

The _thing_ got closer, and the closer it go to us the more it started to look less like a ball of fire and more like a human shaped object flying through the sky with flames trailing from it. A_ robot_? Within seconds it was practically floating above our heads. The pressure of the wind and heat coming from the palms and feet of the machine made my hair flutter and the cape of my captor ripple.

Either I was starting to hallucinate from lack of oxygen or I was beginning to lose my mind. First it had been the strange armoured guy showing up in the manor, second had been Captain America's noble appearance to save us and now… Iron man was here! Surely, I was going mad!

I felt the man holding me relax somewhat, more from surprise I felt and I tried to drag in as much air into my lungs as possible. I then turned to the robot above us and blinked a few times, disbelieving and somewhat lightheaded.

It was Iron Man. I had seen and heard of him before. He was the wealthy and intelligent Mr Tony Stark of Stark Industries who had apparently ventured into a war torn Afghanistan and had returned with shrapnel in his chest. It was said that a special device had been placed near his heart to stop him from dying and that he spent most his time, after recovery, building armoured suits for himself. I knew this simply because I had seen him on the news channels; in fact, it was only a year or so ago that he was on live news for helping protecting America from the ex-convict and Russian physicist Ivan Vanko.

I was dragged out of wandering thoughts by the sound of something electrical charging, surging with power. Iron man lifted a hand and shot a ray of, what looked to be, fire towards us. The beam hit the man holding me directly into his chest and sent him flying back and away from me. The hand that been holding me ripped away and I jostled at the impact, falling to floor on my side. My hip hit the hard stone ground at an angle and with such a force that I winced and hissed in pain.

Before I could even gather myself and think about getting upright again, I felt a pair of hands gently gripping my arms and pulling me into a standing position. I whipped around, startled, and met the concerned and handsome face of Captain America himself.

" Are you alright, ma'am?" He asked me, looking me over as though to inspect for any injuries.

He was young looking, maybe around his mid-twenties to thirties – though age for him was nothing to go by. His eyes were a light baby blue colour that reminded me of a clear sky in summer time.

I nodded and smiled weakly at him, " Yes, thank you." I sighed, an action of both relief and weariness.

We both turn in time to see Iron Man standing over the fallen man, Loki, his hands raised and pulsing threateningly with the promise of another devastating ray.

" Make a move, reindeer games." It was muffle from within the suit, but I could clearly make out Mr Starks distinct accent.

Captain America stepped forward and moved to stand beside the red and yellow armour suited man. His blue gloved hands sat on his hips in a manner of tiredness and impatience.

I stayed back, not wanting to get myself involved at this point. I wanted nothing more than to move away and find the others, to find Harry and make sure he was alright. I needed to sit down, my legs were wobbly underneath me. My breathing was swallow and erratic. I needed time to gather my sanity back.

However, I stayed where I was. I watched, in a mix between awe and wariness as the armoured male sitting on the floor began to shift and change, a golden hue surrounded him as his armour faded away until it was completely gone. Instead he now wore a long black and green leather coat, leather trousers and boots. His hair, with the helmet gone, was slicked back and hung like feathery black tips around his neck and ears.

Loki lifted his hands, slowly. A sign of submission. A sign of surrender.

Iron Man lowered his hands, folded his weapons away and nodded at him with satisfaction, " Good move." I was not quite sure if it was humour or sarcasm in his voice.

"Mr Stark." Captain America greeted to him, still looking at the seated Loki.

"Captain." Stark replied with a nod. They obviously knew one another.

I glanced over at the seated being on the steps, Loki, only to find him looking between the two hero's with mixture of boredom and aloofness. His eyes, piercing and bright, flashed over to the aircraft, now carefully landing behind them. Then his eyes wandered to the agents that began to walk down its extended ramp, and then finally they fell onto me.

I swallowed, heavily. He sat and watched me, silently. Not moving or taking notice of the two males conversing with one another in front him. His attention was solely on me. And within his gaze I saw something dark. The lurking shadow of a threat. An assurance of retaliation. A wordless promise. I could practically feel the distaste and hostility he had for me. It made me want to burrow into a hole and hope that he would never find me and yet at the same time it made me want to sneer back at him. To jeer at him. To celebrate over his failure to intimidate us.

I smiled at him; my lips quirking at one corner as I grinned at him in victory. 'You have failed' – it was written all over my smug face. I felt braver than ever, even as his orbs narrowed slowly at me. I felt confident in knowing that this madness was over; that they were going to take him away, for punishment for what he had done today. I felt happy in knowing that I would never have to experience this horror, to feel his violent touch or to see his face again.

Blue filled my vision suddenly, and I looked up to see Captain America stand right in front of me, reaching out to touch my shoulder whilst shielding me from the searing eyes behind him.

" Forgive me, Ma'am," The Captain said, guiding me away gently until we were out of ear shot and at a safe distance, " I cannot apologise enough for what has just happened here."

I frowned and shook my head at him reassuringly, " Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault."

His own solemn frown turn into concern as he looked me over briefly, " How are you? Are you injured at all?"

" No." I said, waving my hands and smiling lightly at him, " No, I'm fine, honestly."

I began to notice several armed men and suited agents walking around the area. Further away I watched as Iron man and several other people led Loki up and into the aircraft ship. There was so much going on, various agents stepped around, taking pictures of the chaos around us and writing down notes.

" That was a very brave thing you did back there," Captain America stated, drawing my attention back to him, " Miss...?"

"Jessie." I introduce myself, holding out my hand for him, " Jessie Manning."

He shook it, lightly, as though it was strange for him to be shaking a woman's hand.

" Thank you, Miss Manning, for your help." It was an earnest acknowledgment of gratitude from him. His blue eyes warmed, making me smile in reply to his words, " You could have been hurt."

I shrugged, my cheeks heating up at his praise, "It was nothing."

" The police should be with you soon," Sensing it was his time to leave and join the others, he smiled at me reassuringly, " they'll know what to do… In the meantime go inside, keep warm."

I nodded to him. Still slightly overwhelmed by the fact I was having a conversation with the one and only Captain America.

"Take care, Miss Manning." He nodded to me in thanks again before turning away and walking back towards the waiting sky ship.

Before I could stop myself I found myself shouting out after him, "You too, Captain America!"

I saw him look back at me, his eyes wide as though in surprise that I knew who he was. He smiled kindly to me before nodding once again and continuing on his way.

The aircraft, once Captain America got in it, closed up all of its doors with a mechanical creak. The air around me picked up ferocity as the machine began to lift up from the ground and take off into the dim night sky.

I sighed, alone and suddenly feeling tired. I looked around me at the broken slabs of paving, the over turned cars and the various dislodged street lamps. As I listened, I could hear the approaching of sirens in the distance. The air settled and became still, still and empty as though nothing had ever happened to begin with. The quietness that enveloped me was almost unbearable, suffocating.

It was all over. The madness, the chaos, the unrelenting turmoil of emotions - It was all over. I felt relieved and yet at the same time, strangely disappointed. It had been an experience I would never forget; the excitement, the fear, the terror, the rush of adrenaline in my veins. And all of it had been down to one man. One man, who seemed to be made of ice but had the allure and deadliness of rippling water. The same man who could have hurt and possibly killed one of the most important people in my life.

_Harry_, my mind spoke his name and before I could process anything further, I was running up the broken steps towards the huge double doors of the manor. My hair flew and my dress rippled as I sped towards them and flung them open with a bang. The instant they opened I was met with numerous pale and wide eyed faces of the party guests. One person in particular, who was standing by a table in the far corner, caught my eye and caused me to smile as his eyes landed on me. He wore a white suit and had familiar dark hair, light eyes, a tanned complexion and sharp but slim features – features much like my own.

" Dad!" It was breathless shout from my lips. I quickly stepped through the doors and headed straight for him. I was so glad to see him, to see him well and alive. I wanted to hold him, to crush him to me. I wanted to tell him, to spill it all out of what had just happened.

Before I could even get a word in he was before me, his brows furrowed at me as he spoke.

" Jessica," His deep voice sounded terse, disapproving, " Where have you been? Have you been hiding away all this time?"

I paused directly before him and just stared up at him. And in that very instant, the want to embrace him and confide in him vanished.

" What have I told you about doing that?" He practically growled to me in annoyance. I knew, from experience, when I was being berated, and now was such a moment. " Look!" My father said, gesturing around at the mess around us; the bodiless but bloody display stand. " The whole place has been…" He stammered angry for a moment, "…._vandalised_ because of those _clowns_!" He pulled out a phone from his pocket and began to punch in the numbers. " Mark my words, my lawyers will hear of this." He grumbled determinedly, " God damn scumbags."

He moved away to speak down the earpiece. He did not look at me. Not once. He did not even ask how I was. He did not even ask if I was hurt or not. It was almost as though I was not there, standing beside him. It was almost as though I didn't exist to him.

I turned away, unable to look at him anymore. My throat began to grow thick with something. It hurt, like a punch to the gut. It physically left me throbbing, aching with some strange pain I could not fully understand. I began to feel hollow, as though missing something important, yet at the same time ever aware of the emptiness. Of the vast void that is and has been unfilled for many years now.

" Harry is with the paramedics," My father stated suddenly from beside me, looking around the broken room once again with hard eyes, " He is well, but a little shaken by what's happened."

I opened my mouth, about to ask where he was so I could go and see him. But before any sound came out my father turned towards me quickly.

" I'm going to go check on him, to make sure he is doing ok." He said, " Stay here and don't go anywhere..." He lifted a finger at me, pointing, as though to a young child; not his adult daughter, " …I do not want you wandering off again."

Before I could reply, he was gone. He strode away through the door before I could even gather my thoughts. Leaving me alone and surrounded by unfamiliar people once again.

I looked around me, watching as a couple held each other, embracing one another in comfort. I saw a young man lift up a cup of water to another, who looked to be an older brother. I saw another man drape his coat around his red haired lady-friend, telling her that 'she was safe' and that 'he was there for her'. Unable to watch further, I moved away and lowered myself into a chair in the corner. I stared down at the floor silently, in thought, reliving the events that had occurred in the last couple of hours. Of the dangers we had faced. Of the dangers I had faced and could have died from. I lifted a hand and rubbed it against my tender neck as the memory replayed itself.

I was fine. I was alive and well. I was unharmed, and I was safe. Yet… then why did I feel so bereft? Why was I sitting here? Alone?

The creaking of the large double doors met my ears and I lifted my head in time to see three dark figures stride into the hall. Two of them, wore navy coloured suits, with shining black shoes and sunglasses. The man in the centre of them, looked slightly older, but wore a black fitted suit and a black tie. In his ear was a strange earpiece that reminded me of some sort of private investigation program or something out of a James Bond movie. Various guests in the hall settled their attention on the trio. The three men peered around the vast sea of faces around them, determined and thorough, as though searching for someone in particular. _Maybe a loved one? A friend? Perhaps they were someone my father knew?_

The black suited guy's eyes trailed from table to table, then they finally came across me, and stayed there. I watched, in a mix between wariness and confusion, as he turned to the other two behind him and nodded to them, drawing their attention over to me also. They began to walk over towards my table, totally ignoring the numerous pairs of eyes looking at them. All three stopped a few feet away from me, looking down at my seat form, but it was the middle guy, the one in the black suit that spoke to me.

" Jessica Ann Manning?" he enquired, monotonously, as though already knowing the answer.

I nodded up at him, nervously, " Yes?"

The man nodded in greeting to me, "I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division - otherwise known as S.H.I.E.L.D."

_Huh?,_ was the first thing that came to mind. That was a mouthful and a half to say.

" Ok." Was all I could think of to answer with.

The man neither smiled nor changed his blank facial expression. He simply placed his hands before himself and clasped them together. " I understand that you've had a bit of an eventful night this evening but I am afraid we will need to come along with us."

This was getting weirder and weirder. I felt my body tensing with anxiety. I felt my hearts rhythm skip a beat. This wasn't right. _Why did I need to go with them? Who were these men exactly?_

Before I can make a reaction to all of this, the two men with him move to stand either side of me. Surrounding me. Making me look up at them with apprehension.

I looked back to the other man in the black suit; Agent Coulson was it?

" What?" I asked him, panicking a little, " Why?"

" I'll explain this to you later." Was all the information he gave me, " In the meanwhile I would really appreciate your cooperation."

I frowned, " Cooperation?" I looked around for my father, hoping he would appear suddenly and help me out of this predicament, but he was nowhere to be seen. I stood up, feeling intimidated by the three men and said as calmly as possible, "Why should I go with you? I don't know you. Maybe you've got the wrong person…" I pointed over to the door where my father had left through earlier to find Harry, "… my dad is just in the other roo…"

" We're not here for your father."

I lowered my hand heavily, feeling trapped, confused, but also somewhat suspicious. I had seen men like him earlier, gathering evidence, when Captain America and Iron Man had taken off together. Why did I have a funny feeling that it had something to do with what had happened earlier? Why did I feel like this was not the end of an eventful chaotic night, but rather the beginning of something even bigger?

As though sensing my turmoil the Agent gave me a small smile of reassurance and nodded to me.

" Please, Miss Manning." There was something in his voice, reaching out to me, telling me to trust him, "You safety has been compromised."

_This was crazy! Would tonight ever end? Why was my dad not around when I needed him?_ I let my thoughts ponder over what had happened today. So much had taken place, I was having difficulty keeping up with it all. First the attack, then a medieval looking man wielding a spear, and then two celebrity superheroes, and now this. I was torn with indecision. Ideally, I should turn the men away and tell them to leave or talk to my dad. But I found myself rethinking the decision. Every time I thought about how ridiculous this was getting, a pair of brilliant emerald eyes crossed my mind. This was all linked; I felt it deep down inside of myself. And what if they were right? What if I was in danger? What about the others? My dad? Harry?

Maybe it was tiredness that drove me to act. Maybe it was madness. Whichever it was, it had won and before I could stop myself I felt myself nodding to him in agreement.

" Let me just grab my coat."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here we go! Yet another chapter done, though I have to admit I'm not overly happy with it. However, it is done. Who knows, maybe you guys may think and feel differently about it. I've also been doing some future planning for this story and I can't wait to get into the knitty gritting stuff… All I can say is, It's going to be good (if I do say so myself) :0)**

**So here it is, Chapter 'Thor' ( Did you like how I did that? 4? Thor? Lol) of my story 'Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Please feel free fave and Review. All comments are welcome.**

**Enjoy :0)**

**Let the madness commence!**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Time seemed to fly by, I had no idea what time it was or long I had been in this place. I looked around the room, my gaze taking in all the details. It was a simple room, four walls, in a pastel cream colour. The bed I sat on was a soft and a single in size. The carpet underneath my bare feet was thick and cushioning under my tender soles. There was a large round window above the bed; it was a clear portal to the everlasting blue sky and white clouds outside. To my right was another door, which I could only assume, led to an en-suite bathroom of sorts.

The aircraft I was on was huge. At first I had assumed it was a rather flat looking boat, as it was landed on the sea when we had first arrived to it. Only to realise, ten minutes later, that the boat could fly and was now soaring into the sky. The thrum of the engines rattled through the ground below me and vibrated against my naked toes. The humming sound was both relaxing and frightening; a constant reminder that I had left my father without so much as word, and now I was in the sky, flying away with strangers who seemed to know everything about me. I sighed to myself, tired and weary, desperately needing some time to sleep and to think in peace.

I looked up at the man standing before me in his black fitting suit. Agent Phil Coulson was watching me, assessing me as I peered around my new surroundings trying to gather some of my sanity back.

" Mr fury will speak with you soon." He said, turning away towards the door we had entered through not long ago, " In the meantime, get some rest." He opened and looked back one more time to me, " I'll come and get you when he's ready to see you."

Feeling lost and unable to do anything else, I simply nodded at him and watched him leave, softly closing the door behind him.

_So, this was it. Here I am,_ I thought to myself solemnly. After the aftermath of the attack, the agents had sought me out, trying to encourage me to leave with them. There encouragement had worked and before I had known or considered changing my mind I had left with them. One moment I was with the other guests, sat on a chair, waiting for my father to return. The next I was in an expensive looking black car, and then we had stepped up into a parked helicopter where it had taken off and brought us here. It was called a 'Hellicarrier', or so Agent Coulson had told me on the way here. It was one of the biggest and most obscure pieces of machinery I had ever seen in my life. It was huge. Both the Agents and I had stepped onto the large aircraft and Agent Coulson had led me straight through the winding steel corridors to this spare room, where I would be staying for the time being.

I was so out of my depth. I had no idea where I was; other than on a strange air ship. I had no idea was time it was, as when I looked down at my watch I realised it was missing, it had probably fallen off at some point during the evening. I felt dirty, tired, my hair was mess and my feet were killing me. I wanted nothing more than to be back at home and to snuggle under my thick duvet quilt with my flannel pyjamas on. Instead all I could do was lean back against the crisp clean pillows of this new bed and stare at the ceiling.

I don't know how long I lay there, staring, thinking about everything and nothing in particular. But before I realised, my eyes were growing heavily and my lids started to fall shut. A soothing, empty darkness took a hold of me, it bathed me and embraced me like a missed companion. I wanted it to never end. However my wish did not happen; as the moment a knock sounded at the door and I heard the soft creak of it from beside me I was up in a flash with my eyes open as I watched Agent Coulson step into the room.

The middle-aged man nodded to me both in understanding and apology for waking me, "He's ready to see you now."

I took a deep cleansing breath and stood, preparing myself for what was to come. I reached over and slipped my shoes back onto my feet. I nodded and followed him out of the room, letting him guide me as we twisted and turned our way through the numerous corridors once again to meet with the person who could give me all the answers. Nick Fury, is what Agent Coulson had called him, and apparently he was the man who had sent for me. He is the director and a super-agent of S.H.I.E.L.D and one of the most influential and powerful men of his time. Or so Agent Coulson had said.

The suited agent and I stepped in a strange metal lift and the moment we were alone together in the compartment I began to fiddle with the folds on my skirts, trying to smooth out the creases somewhat.

" Nervous?"

Surprised, I looked up into Agent Coulson smiling blue eyes and nodded guiltily, my cheeks heating.

He chuckled lightly, "Don't be." He turned towards the lift doors again as the compartment began to jolt and move underneath us, " Mr Fury is somewhat eccentric, but he is a good man. You can trust us."

I felt myself smiling a little, appreciative of his support and for being kind when I was obviously feeling very lost in this unknown territory.

The lift stopped suddenly and the doors opened to reveal another steel framed corridor. Agent Coulson led me down it, confident in his direction, as we made our way closer to a thick pair of metal double doors right at the end. As we got closer, my ears picked up the sound numerous voices talking from inside the room.

"I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men that I know into his personal flying monkeys." The voice speaking was deep and heavy sounding, definitely male.

"Monkeys?" this one was male too, but softer, more cultured, " I do not understand…"

"I do!" another piped in, male, soft and oddly familiar. The room fell silent for a second before the person finished with, " I..I understood that reference."

"Shall we play doctor?" A new voice joined the others and recognised it instantly; it was Mr Tony Stark.

Without pausing to knock, Agent Coulson stepped in front of me as we reached the door and opened them and strode through into the room that waited on the other side. The room was large, the control room of the ship by the looks of things. There were two levels to it. The lower level was filled with various desks, control panels, machinery and screens. A large group of people were sat at them, monitoring the screens, pressing buttons or levers when necessary. The higher level, which we were standing on now, was a fairly empty area save for a few control panels and a large desk situated at the centre of the space. Around this table, sat and stood some familiar and unfamiliar faces.

The first person I noticed was Tony Stark, dressed in a dark suit, standing beside another neatly attired man. They were both standing near the door and looked as though they were about to walk out of it until we had come striding into the door. The second thing I noticed was Captain America, mask-less and dressed in casual clothes, reclining in a chair at the large table at the centre of the room. Then I saw another guy standing on the opposite side of the spacious area. He was huge, muscled and dressed in clothes that could only be described as medieval, like out of theatrical play. His shoulders were wide and were covered with a long cape of crimson red down to his feet. His body was covered in a mass of black fabric and golden armour. His features were square, masculine and surrounded with blonde wavy hair and a short beard. To his left sat a young woman, maybe in her mid-twenties. She had short red hair and wore a black tight outfit, giving her a feminine but deadly appearance. Finally my gaze landed on the dark skinned man standing at the far right of the group. He wore a long leather black jacket and darker clothes to match underneath. His head was bald, shaven clean. Above his left eye was a patch that tide around to the back on his head.

They were all silent, looking between Agent Coulson who moved further into the room, and then to me, still standing at the door.

" Mr Fury," The Agent murmured to him as he passed the darker man, " She is here."

I shuffled my feet into the carpet, feeling awkward and anxious under their constant staring. I was grateful when the man Agent Coulson had referred to as 'Mr Fury' stepped forward and stuck his hand out to me.

" Miss Manning." His deep voice sounded heavy as he greeted me.

I coughed lightly, clearing my throat of the thickness that was suddenly clogging it. " Hi." It came out simply, shyly from my lips as my eyes kept glancing from face to face. I shook his hand and released it quickly.

Captain America's eyes widened at me disbelief and before anyone could say anything he was up and striding over to the darker man, Nick Fury, his brows furrowed with anger as he began to speak.

" What is she doing here?" His voice was lowered, filled with concern as he tried to whisper it so only the director could hear. I heard him, even from where I was standing near the door. It made me feel suddenly unwelcome, like I had no place to be here.

Fury turned to him and gave him a pointed look, " She is here, because I asked her to be here."

" What?" It was the woman, Natasha who spoke this time, her eyes were narrowed at Fury in a questioning manner, " What is that supposed to mean?"

Nick Fury, ignored them both, he looked to me, his dark eyes burning into me intently as he stepped closer to speak directly to me, and only to me.

" Miss Manning, thank you for coming here." He shrugged slightly, nonchalantly, " I am afraid it was a necessary cause of action. I understand you have a lot of questions on your mind. We will address them as we talk."

I just nodded at him, the empty silence of the room made my ears thrum and slick heat formed on the pads of my hands.

" Please," Fury motioned over to a chair by the table, " take a seat."

I did I was told. I stepped over carefully and slid out the chair, slowly lowering myself into it. I placed my hands on the hard wooden surface and waited as Fury took a seat directly in front of me across the table. I could still feel everyone's eyes planted on me, it was becoming overwhelming, not to mention annoying.

I sighed suddenly, loudly, when the emptiness became too much.

"Look." I started suddenly, looking to Fury as he sat himself down, " I'm not quite sure what you want," I frowned to myself, uncertain, " or why I came here in fact." I shrugged to them all, wanting them to understand, " I just came here to know that my family is safe." I glanced over to Agent Coulson and spoke to him, " You said my safety was being compromised." I shrugged and turned back to Fury, my eyes desperate, showing my confusion and anxiety, " After the last twenty four hours, I don't know how much more craziness I can take. I'm worried… for my friends… for my father. You understand this right?"

Fury remained still, he did not move an inch nor nod to agree to my question.

" The man you were trying to protect," He asked, " Is he a family member?"

I shook my head at him, "No, a friend." I began to explain, " He's been close to my family for a long time."

Fury nodded and looked me over for second, assessing me for something, but I wasn't quite sure what, " It must have taken a lot of guts for you to stand up to Loki." His features and expression did not change at all, " As you can imagine, he is not the sort to forgive and forget easy."

I frowned, trying to remember, " Loki?"

" The man who tried to attack you at the party."

I remembered then, the man, with the cool emerald eyes, who had crashed the party and tried to attack Harry. His name had been Loki; or so the others had called him. He had been a strange being, not fully human to my standards; as he could move with a speed no real human could achieve and he glowed golden as though he was made of it. Like he was made of something magical. I had met him on two occasions. The first time had been in the hallway of the manor, the second outside, when his hand had been around my throat. Just thinking about it made my neck ache with the memory.

" You have done the unthinkable, Miss Manning." Nick Fury brought me out of my thoughts again, and I glanced up to see him watching me, " Loki had come to steal a precious metal, Iridium." He paused, but I remained silent. I did not know what this 'Iridium' was; only that it must have been priceless if the man, Loki, had been willing to kill to achieve it.

Fury continued, " He had tried to create chaos and force submission. And you, a mere mortal woman in his eyes, had gotten in his way and stood against him."

I swallowed, not in fear, but in understanding of how dangerous a situation I had gotten myself into. These people were superhero's, spies and well trained Agents. But even they had the knowledge to fear or be wary of this Loki person.

" Understand that whilst he is here with us, captured and under our surveillance he may be patiently waiting for his moment, his chance of escape. And you…" He paused, giving me a pointed look, "… may become a victim of his wrath."

That was something I did not wish to hear in my life. _What does this mean then? That I am in danger? A target for this man? I do not even know him!_

" So, here is my proposition to you." Fury started again, leaning forward in his seat, placing his elbows across the table as though he meant business. " Allow us, S.H.I.E.L.D, to protect you and your family." His hands unclasped and splayed in a sign of harmlessness, " We can place you under high security. We will provide for you. We can send both you, your father and your friend to a remote part of the coast of south Australia…"

"Woah! Hang on a minute!" I blurted out suddenly, disbelieving and outrage at the same time. _Australia?_ " I'm not going to hide, if that is what you are asking of me," I said to him clearly, leaving no room for argument, " Why should I? I haven't done anything wrong." I glanced over every face in the room watching us before turning back to Fury again, " We can't just simply up and move away somewhere, ok, my father works, he is a big investor in businesses! He can't and won't simply throw that away!"

I heard my voice rise, almost to the brink of shouting, but I did not care. I was more than pissed. Here I was, trying to figure this chaos out, trying to get a piece of my normal life back and these 'strangers' were trying to convince me to just drop my life and change it. All because of one night. All because of one, simple, man.

The distress must have been plastered all over my face because Captain America turned away from me, still standing beside the seated Nick Fury before he bent down and murmured angrily to him.

" Why have you done this?"

The dark skinned man, frowned, and slowly looked up at the Captain, unfazed by his question, " I have done this for her safety."

" Couldn't you have just left her alone?" The Captain spoke again. But I heard every word. "Loki probably won't even remember her face." He baby blues eyes flashed to me sympathetically before he turned away completely and said, " You have gone too far."

Fury, however, was still turned to him, staring at him. It was obvious he was disapproving of the other man's tone to him; he was obviously a man not used to having his motives questioned. "What would you have me do, Mr Rogers?"

A silence entered the room for a second, and all I could do was sit there, shuffling my feet lightly under the table whilst fiddling with the ends of my knee length dress. This was so awkward. I did not know what to say. What to think. I did not even know why I was here. If my safety was 'compromised', as they say, why were they not worrying about the other guests as well? Why where they not worried for my father, or Harry. They were important too, and were in just as much as a predicament as me. I peered from face to face; from baby blue, to brown, to black and then back again. _Something was going on here_. I was suspicious of them all. I felt it deep in the centre of my being. Something was not right with this picture Fury was trying to paint to me, but I could not figure out what it was.

" He's right." Came the clear, intelligent voice of Tony Stark from beside us. He stepped forward towards our table, one hand buried into the pocket of his dark suit as the other waved around enthusiastically, as though he was trying to prove a point, " We both saw the way Loki looked at her after our little wrestling match. He's got something planned." He pointed at me at one stage, " Whether it includes her or not, she is involved now."

" I'm not going to Australia." It came out, quiet, but firm as I stared down at my hands. I was not going to be moved on this matter. Was no one listening to me at all? Did my views not matter or something?

By the time I looked up, Stark was directly next to me, "Why not?" His voice was both charmingly smooth, yet at the same time filled with barely held back sarcasm, " You'll love it there. They've got sandy beaches, wallabies, kangaroos, nice beers and they have barbeques almost all day, every day."

I shook my head at him; he wasn't convincing me very well.

" Stark." We all rotated our heads towards the director, Nick Fury again. His dark disapproving eyes were glaring into Tony, and then they finally moved over to me.

"Miss Manning…" he started, clearly starting to sound annoyed, "something has to be done."

Without giving his idea further thought I simply shook my head at him and stood up from my chair, pushing it back into place under the table, "I won't," I stated, slowly, in clear English for him to understand, " and will not, go to Australia." I paused for second, letting it all soak into their heads, " End of."

"Then," it came out almost regretfully from Fury lips, " you leave us with no choice," He sighed and straightened himself out of his chair as well, " you will have to stay here with us until it is safe for you to return home."

That had everyone's attention instantly.

I froze, panicked, "What?"

" Once we have located and found the Tesseract you can go home." He gave me a hard look, " Until then… you are here."

Before I could stop myself a burst of breathless and mirthless laughter came from my throat, "Don't you think this all a bit over the top?"

" No." Fury answered, simply, easily.

" Yes." It came from behind me and had sounded like Captain Americas voice.

I slumped my shoulders and lifted my hands to the rest of the group, as though silently pleading for their support, to make this crazy man before understand that all of this was not necessary. When none of them spoke or moved, I lifted a hand to my forehead and rubbed it, trying to gather some of my sanity back. "This is crazy." I mumbled to no one in particular. A few moments passed, I tore my eyes up again to the large dark skinned man who was watching me silently. _Perhaps this was for the best? They are only thinking of you, Jessie. _I shrugged, " What about my dad?"

Something passed across his dark eyes then. Some, hidden intelligent thought, some knowledge buried deep inside. The pause he created was far too long for my liking. He simply stood there for moment, thinking, planning, before he simply stepped away from the table and began to walk over to the other side of the room where some of the others stood.

My eyes followed him, filled with suspicion and wariness as he stopped between the two large figures of the blond bearded medieval man and the suited man who had been talking with Mr Stark before I had come into the room.

"Enough of the questions for now," Fury turned back to face me, the patch on his eye prominent under the luminescent light above his head, " Let me introduce you to the members of S.H.I.E.L.D," he made a small gesture around to them all, " you must be wondering who we all are…"

" Please, allow me."

I whipped my head round to Tony Stark who had spoken; I had almost forgotten he was still standing beside me. He moved closer to me with a warm and charming smile spread across his neat bearded face.

" Stark." It came out a low warning from Fury.

" What?" Tony said, looking to him in an innocent fashion, " I'm being nice?" He looked to me again " I can be charming when I want to be." And then he murmured under his breath, " We're not all miserable like you, Nicky boy."

I heard the director of S.H.I.E.L.D make a low sound of displeasure before saying, " Remember the code, Stark. She only needs to know the basic information about us."

The smile on Starks face grew before he held out his hand to me in greeting. I shook it slowly, awkwardly.

"So…" he started, confidently, as though we were old friend, " Hi, I'm Tony Stark."

I nodded, "Yes, I've heard of you."

His dark eyes lit up at that in delight, " Great!" He chirped happily, turning to one side to throw his arm about my shoulder in an overly friendly way, " That practically makes us family." He said down to me, his height and arm weighing me down beside him. He began to guide me further into the room, towards his small group of comrades as they followed us with their eyes, " Do you like shawarma?"

I frowned up at him. The strange, random question had come out of the blue. _Swar - What? What the hell was he talking about?_ Before I could answer him he was answering for me.

" No? I can't say I've ever tried it myself." He stopped suddenly, and rotated both himself and me to face the waiting group of males and the red haired female.

" Now," Stark took a deep breath as though preparing for some brilliant and out-of-this-world speech. He pointed to Captain America at the far end, " Sir Lancelot over there is Captain America as you probably already know as well. Unlike me, he has no money, no intelligence and likes to spend most of his time wearing tight spangly outfits." He leant down towards me and whispered, "He's a bit weirdo, steer clear of him." He then pointed over to the red haired woman, " The delightful yet deadly lady to your right is Natasha Romanoff AKA The Black Widow." He pointed to the huge medieval blond man, " The big hairy guy over here is Thor, the god of Thunder. His brother, Loki, is trying to take over the world." He pointed up towards the heaven way, " Clint Barton, AKA Hawkeye, who is not here presently, is the reincarnation of Prince Legolas. Oh!" He finally gestured over to the quiet dark haired suited man at the far left, " and this guy over here is Bruce Banner, he is a genius physician and scientist that turns into a big green angry _thing_ that likes to break stuff."

I stood silent. Wordless. Breathless. And utterly confused. All I could do was nod slowly at him. _Riiiiiiiight, I think I'm in a nut house._

Stark frowned and peered around suddenly in a camp like fashion, "Have I missed anyone out?"

No one answered him, they were too busy sending glares and scowls in his direction.

I blinked up at him. Then looked at the Others. Then back to Stark. My head was hurting. I was more confused than ever. I wanted to go home. I wanted to see my doctor; for my growing headache, and for my mental instability.

" Stark…" It was Nick Fury who finally broke the silence, "You're an asshole."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi all! I have returned for another chapter of my new story 'Of mischief and Madness' and let me tell you, I have been sulking like a Bee-otch because I couldn't get the time to finish this chapter. I've been so busy lately, it is mental! I have officially one college assignment left to do and then I have finished my course. It is quite scary O.O **

** Anyway! Thank you all for being patient with me. Thank you for adding, faving and commenting. You've all been brilliant! :0) ****I'm really enjoying the fact a few of you are trying to guess and predict what is going to happen in the story. Some of you are asking questions too, which is nice and motivating. All good things come to those who wait my pretties. And remember - that there is always a method in the madness!**

**Here is chapter 5 of my story ' Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Enjoy :0)**

**Let the madness commence!**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

Sleep evaded me. As I stepped down the metal corridor of the Hellicarrier, trying to find my way to the main control room, my body felt tired, weary, in need of sleep. But my mind had other ideas. I could not stop thinking about home. Even as I moved slowly, silently, trying to find my bearings, I could not stop imagining being back at home, in my own bed. I wanted to feel the expensive navy blue plush carpet my dad loved so much under my feet. I wanted to sit at my bedroom windowsill and just gaze out at the night sky and the garden outside. I wanted to see 'Mimi', our pet cat. I wanted to feel him rubbing against my calves, his annoying claws digging into my legs when he would nestle up on my lap. I wanted some new clothes, anything but this dress that I had been wearing since the party. Most of all, I wanted a long hot soak in the bath tub… with bubbles.

I sighed to myself in yearning, _Ah, the little things that you miss._

I felt like I deserved a nice bubble bath after all that had gone on recently. Nearly half a day had passed, with Director Fury and the others trying to explain to me who they all were after Tony Starks attempt at making an introduction. It had been awkward at first, it had all sounded a bit strange and unbelievable at first, but I trusted their words. I learnt, slowly and gradually, that they were trying to find something called a 'Tesseract', a priceless cube-like object that had been hidden by Loki. I learnt that Loki was Thors brother. Both of them were demigods and came from a completely different realm to us, called Asgard. When I had first been told this I had laughed, disbelievingly, thinking they were all nuts; only to have sobered up to find them all looking at me expectantly, completely serious. I began to understand that Dr Bruce Banner was a very intelligent man who, according to Stark, turned into a green raging giant. A_ hulk_, is what he had named it. Natasha Romanoff was a very secretive and disclosed woman; she was one of those silent and mysterious types. She rarely spoke or voiced her opinion on things, and when she did it was straight down to the point, there was no vagueness or ambiguity with her. Captain America and Tony Stark were, well, just themselves. They had no secrets, most of what and who they were was open for the public eye to see. Everyone knew who they were. The others had also mentioned a man called Clint Barton, another member of their team, who was (as far as what director Fury had said) not here at present for some reason or another.

I did not question what they told me, I soaked it all up like a sponge, simply to make it easier for myself to accept, but also out of nerve wrangling curiosity. Excitement, because after all this time, I had never known any of this existed, that _they_ existed. Nick Fury had made it painstakingly obvious that he did not want me knowing about them, about all of this. But after Starks embarrassing and slightly crazy introduction the small team had had no further choice but to tell me about who they were and what their mission was. I found it all confusing, but so very interesting, like a fantasy world in reality. All I knew and understood was that whatever this 'Tesseract' cube was, we had to find it and keep it away from Loki. Once the cube was found and Loki was returned to Asgard, I could go back to the safety of my home. With no more potential threats or worries.

I sighed to myself lowly and stepped further down the hallway. I glanced around, surveying and examining my surroundings. I was uselessly and helplessly lost. All of the curved metal walls that surrounded me looked the same, no matter where I went. I tried to remember the directions, the mental map I had drawn out for myself since coming here. I was trying to remember the way Agent Coulson had showed me earlier, but every new turn or corner that I took only seemed to delve me deeper into unknown territory.

I took a turn to my right only to find another corridor. This one was just as similar as the others, but also even more unfamiliar to me. I made a strange noise in the back of my throat, a grumble of frustration. This place was like a maze. If I did not know any better, I would almost imagine that it changed with each turn that I took, trying to confuse and entrap me in its twisting depths.

Feeling disheartened, I caught sight of a door up ahead to the left and stepped towards it. I needed to find someone, anyone who could help me, who could show me the way to the control room or Director Fury. I slid open the steel door and moved through into a room that was small, but spacious, with a few tables and chairs lining its center. At the far end was a sink and fridge. The floors were tiled and clean looking. Beside me was the thrumming of a vending machine filled with various chocolate snacks. The room was a kitchen or cafeteria of sorts. It was very quiet, almost silent around me. At first I thought I was alone, that the room was empty, but the moment I looked into the far left I saw a figure sat at a table. The figure raised his head and his baby blue eyes met mine.

" Hey." His voice was soft and welcoming, and familiar.

I took a few steps closer and smiled shyly into the handsome face of a new acquaintance of mine.

" Captain America." I breathed in relief at finally finding someone I knew. I moved forward to stand at the other side of his table and he smiled up at me warmly, his slender features lighting up as he recognized me.

He sat at the table with a steaming cup of some dark beverage in his hand; the aroma of caffeine wafted around the air. His was wearing his normal attire consisting of a pair of faded jeans and a dark blue t-shirt.

" How are you?" He asked suddenly and I realised that I had been staring.

I looked away quickly, my cheeks heating as I looked around the room for a moment.

" I'm fine, thank you," My reply was curt, almost awkward sounding. I did not know what to say to him; he was a hero for many, a legend. Here we were, alone, together and I could think of nothing to say to him. I felt that whatever I would say would come out sounding ridiculous.

I coughed lightly, clearing my throat when I felt a strained atmosphere grow around us. He was watching me quietly, waiting for me to speak, still smiling gently. As though he knew I was nervous.

" I'm sorry," I said, finally looking back to him fully, " I didn't mean to interrupt your break, captain Ameri-."

"Please, call me Steve."

I paused and held his gaze for second.

" Steve?" It sounded strange and foreign on my tongue.

He nodded, "Steve Rogers," He motioned to the seat across from him, indicating for me to take a seat with him.

I pulled out the chair and lowered myself into it. Another empty silence took a hold between us before Captain Amer… I mean, Steve lifted his cup, took a swig and then sighed before lowering his hand again.

"So…" He said, lowering his gaze and playing with the rim of his mug, " How are you settling in here? I understand this must be very difficult for you."

I swallowed, looked down, and shook my head, " I'm just…" I began and then lifted my head to meet his sky coloured eyes head on, " I'm feeling a little homesick."

I watched him nod in understanding. He lifted his mug again and drained the last of the fluid inside before lowering it back down to the table with a quiet 'clink'.

" Miss Manning," Steve started suddenly, gently, "I cannot apologise enough to you."

" Jessica." I said, wanting to be as courteous to him as he was to me, " Call me Jessica. Miss Manning makes me sound like a strict school teacher."

He smiled at me and it was a contagious one, " Jessica." He spoke it, testing the name before saying, " What happened the other night must have been frightening for you, and now all of this." He gestured around to everything, indicating to the strange new surroundings around me.

I nodded slowly and lowered my head, allowing locks of hair to fall forward as I sighed, " It's all just a little bit strange to me." I admitted, quietly, honestly, " I suppose the only thing I can do now is sit back and see what will happen."

I heard the shuffling of fabric and then suddenly I felt something warm gripping my hand. Something shifted inside of me. Something tingled. I looked up instinctively to him, somewhat surprised by his concern for me. His warm eyes however changed, darkened with confusion. He made a sound, almost like a low gasp of surprise. His eyes, blue and bright, were locked on our joined hands. A whole minute seemed to pass. I felt his bare fingers tighten suddenly and then loosened, releasing me completely. I felt myself frowning, I opened my mouth on the brink of asking him what was wrong when he suddenly move his hand away completely and placed it somewhere under the table.

" Miss Man…" Steve paused, " Jessica," he corrected himself, "I know we haven't know each other for very long, but you're not alone here." He smiled but it died away before it could fully blossom onto his face, his eyes dropped to my hands still on the table top before he said, " There are some things I cannot tell you, but if you ever feel the need to talk to someone. Just to talk. I am here, I'm a good listener."

I smiled again, though it was a sad motion of my lips. It was warming to know that I had an ally here amongst the new and unusual. I was happy that I had a friend whom I could rely on and talk to. I tried to will myself to be positive, to believe in his words, in his confidence.

" Hey." His voice reached my ears and his hand drifted across the table into my downward vision. He reached for my hand again, but this time did not create contact. I lifted my eyes and met his, feeling and seeing his honesty shining out from inside of them. He smiled at me encouragingly, " You will be back home again soon, Jessica. I promise you that."

I nodded and gave him the best smile I could muster, " Thank you, that means a lot to me."

The strange silence entered the room again and we sat quietly together. Despite the Captains kind words and support I wanted nothing more than to return home, to be back in my own world, back to my normal life.

Steve stood suddenly from his chair, pulling me from my thoughts. He nodded to me but seemed apologetic.

" Sorry, I need to get going, " His sounded secretive and mysterious, " There is something that I need to do," he looked as though he was about to say something else, but then seemed to change his mind.

I gave a small smile back and nodded him, somewhat disappointed that he was leaving me already. I had been enjoying our little chat; it was nice to have someone to talk to. So much that I completely forgot to ask him for directions to finding Director Fury. By the time I remembered and opened my mouth to speak to him, Steve was already walking and slipping through the door. The metal slid together with a click, sealing me in silence and with only my own person for company.

I cursed quietly to myself, deciding whether to go out and try to follow Steve, to ask for help but I knew it would be pointless. He said he had something to do, he was busy, too busy to babysit me all day and I did not even know which direction he had gone in.

I scooted sideways from my chair, walked over, and opened the sliding doors. I stepped into the corridor, my shoes clanging against the hard surface beneath them. I turned my head left and then right, but could see no one around. Steve was gone. I was completely and utterly alone once again.

I made my decision then and there. I would go back to my room and wait for someone to come for me. I moved once again through the corridors, taking a turn to my left and headed down it trying to find my bearings, something familiar to me. I felt frustration start to kick in.

I turned into a corner to my right, took two steps forwards and then paused in the long corridor that met me. None of it looked right, none of it looked familiar. This was the wrong way, _again_. I started to rotate, intending to turn back the way I had come.

But then I heard them… The voices.

There were two of them speaking; one of the voices was low but definitely feminine, the other was deeper, male and somewhat cultured. I could not fully understand what they were saying to one another.

_Maybe they could help me find my room? _The thought was encouraging.

"…red in my ledger… like to wipe it out."

I followed the sounds to a door a little further down the hall from me. The glass door was opened slightly, a small slither of a gap between the metal latch and the frame. The voices rose up in volume, becoming louder and livelier. I felt curiosity prod at me like a nosey child, daring me to step closer to listen, to hear what the people were talking about. It was rude do such a thing, it was wrong and it was none of my business. I had been taught as a child to not listen to other peoples conversations. However, still, my feet moved forward towards the door. I stayed out of sight, leaned against the cold hard wall, and tilted my head to listen closely.

"… basest sentimentality… child at prayer…. Pathetic!" It was growled, low and forbidding and I felt myself shiver at the unpleasantness of the person speaking. It sounded oddly familiar.

I peeked around the side of the door to peer inside through the glass. I could see through the door a set of metal steps, a walkway of some sort that curved away and out of sight and railings around it. Slowly I peeled back the door so that I could step through. My feet tapped against the strange platform beneath me as I peered around the area. To my left and right were walls that followed and hugged the walkway that I was on. I move forward, quietly, listening intently as I followed the curve of the metal path and railings around me. As I moved another meter or two forward the wall at my left disappeared and in its place was a strange and open room. Around me were pipes and railings, trailing around the area like a light reflecting labyrinth. Above and below me there were more platforms that turned and twisted, crisscrossing over and under each other. Metal columns stood tall throughout various parts of the hall, following the circular curve of the room. The room itself was huge in size and for some reason, it remind me strangely of the inside of a spaceship.

I took another step forward and it was then that I noticed the rounded glass compartment at the center of the room. It was dome shaped and had strange metal arms coming from the top that clamped down around the sides, sealing it tightly into place.

It wasn't the structure of the odd compartment that took me aback for a second. It was the _person_ standing inside of it, and another person standing outside of it, with her back to me. It was the woman, Natasha, the black widow, talking to the same man from the party in Germany, the one who had attacked us.

Loki, Thor's brother.

I panicked and shot forward to stand behind one of the large metal pillars. I prayed silently that they had not heard me, that they had not seen me. My heart raced and my mind was going into a frenzy. _I should have turned away, I should not have come here_, I chanted to myself.

They continued to speak, signaling to me that they had not noticed my presence in the room.

" You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers." I heard the man, Loki, say calmly, sneeringly to the woman stood in front of him with her arms crossed, " You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors." His voice held a deceiving softness that caused my skin to ripple with unease, "But they are a part of you, and they will never go away."

I started when a resounding bang splintered the calm atmosphere. I flinched instinctively at how loud it was and poked my head slightly out to look at what was happening.

Loki was standing close to the glass, his tightly fisted hand pressed against the transparent surface. His face was twisted into a look that could only be described as pure utter malice. His features, pale and slender, twisted into a cruel snarl that looked both victorious and cunning.

" I won't barter Barton!" He hissed it to her, menacingly, " Not until I make him kill you!… Slowly," he said the word carefully, as though knowing it would affect her somehow, "Intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams I'll split his skull!"

I watched, both terrified at what I was hearing and curious to know what was going on. I watched as Natasha stepped away from the glass that separated her from the tall dark haired male. The moment she turned away and towards me, I saw her face. It wasn't fearful and wide eyed as I thought it would be, but instead it was relatively calm, despite the fact that she lowered her head, as though in fear.

Loki continued to taunt her mercilessly, " This is my bargain, you mewling quim."

" You're a monster." It came from Natasha's mouth, soft, feminine and somewhat weepy. But her face remained impassive.

" Oh, no," Loki purred suddenly, his hand still on the glass, his eyes bearing down on the redhead, " You brought the monster."

It all happened so fast, I could have missed it had I had not been paying attention. Natasha lifted her head, her shoulders rising as though realising something. I saw her lips quirk into a quick smile before it vanished and she turned back to look at Loki.

" So, Banner?" she said conversationally, as though unfazed by what he had just said, " That's your plan?"

Loki looked confused for second, " What?"

Before either of us could react to what was happening Natasha whirled around again towards me and started to head in my direction.

I panicked and pushed further around the side of the column I was standing behind. I was sure I was going to be seen. I knew it. I felt it. With each step she took towards my hiding spot I felt my heart skip a beat. I held my breath…

" Loki means to unleash the Hulk." She spoke into her earpiece as she barely reached me, " Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Set the door locked."

I saw her shadow pause and turn back to the glass container.

" Thank you," she said rather easily, " for your cooperation."

She started to move again and before I could react or think to move, she stepped past me and followed the platform to the door I had entered through. She did not see me at all. She did not even glance in my direction.

I let out a quiet sigh of relief, suddenly aware of the empty silence that now took a hold of the room. I lifted a hand to my chest, willing my heart to slow. _That was close,_ I thought to myself, almost wanting to laugh at the situation. I felt a smile creep across my face, but it died quickly when I realised that the room was now empty save for myself and the strange man in the glass prison. I glanced around the area, measuring the distance, the time it would take me to run across the platform to the door I had come through, to sneak out unnoticed without him seeing me.

I braced myself, preparing to make my move…

" It is rude to eaves drop, you know."

I froze. I felt my chest seize as his voice drifted over to me from the center of the room. My eyes widened and I stood still, absolutely terrified and unsure of what to do or say. I prayed silently that he was not talking to me, but rather someone else. When no one answered him and I heard his silky rumble of laughter, I panicked. All I could do was wait with a bated breath, preparing for the worst.

" I know you are there," It came out slowly, knowingly, enticingly as though he was a fox luring a rabbit from its hole, " You might as well show yourself."

I argued with myself mentally, trying to convince myself to turn away and leave quickly, despite the fact he knew I was there. I was berating myself, for being here in the first place and for staying when I should have just turned around ages ago and left while I could. If I was to step out now or even talk to him, it would only lead to trouble and more danger. I did not want that, not one bit, not after what has happened so far. But I felt hopelessly trapped. He would see me anyway, even if I did try to run. I did not want to run from him. I did not want to give him the satisfaction.

Without thinking, I slowly slinked from behind my pillar. I glanced up to find him already looking at me, watching me, with eyes as sharp as a vulture; as though he had known I had been there the entire time. I took small and unsure steps towards him until I gradually moved into the light of the room.

As I moved further across the platform towards the man behind the glass, I began to see more details about him. Loki. I could see his eyes, vibrant and chilling at the same time. From a distance they had looked blue, but now I could see as I moved closer that they were in fact a glittering emerald shade. His attire was of his normal green and gold clothing consisting of a long jacket, trousers, boots, tunic and wrist guards. His hair was a deep black colour, like the feathers of a raven. It hung to his shoulders and flicked about his ears in an almost playful manner.

As I assessed him, I noticed he was also examining me. His pale and somewhat aristocratic features changed as I moved closer into his sight. I watched with a mixture of emotion as his smile began to fall and recognition filled and darkened his eyes.

"Well, well," He said the words in a rather clipped and oddly British tone, " If it isn't you again."

I swallowed and stopped a good distance away from the glass barrier. _Good distance_, meaning, a good three or four meters away. Which was plenty enough for me. I was not willing to step any closer. I was afraid to and I think he saw it somehow, because his curved lips began to pull up slowly at the corners. His eyes glittering dangerously with pleasure.

_What are you doing Jessica?_ I chided to myself, almost desperately, _Get out, you have to get out now! _His strange look put me on edge and before I could stop myself I was taking a step back, moving away from him.

" What?" he cooed to me almost gently, " Are you not going to stay for a little chat?"

I could see the mirth practically glimmering from his face. He was playing with me, like a cat would do with a mouse. I should not have felt fear, as he was on the other side of the glass. He was the prisoner. He couldn't do anything to hurt or harm me. I was safe. Yet every time I met his crystalline eyes, they told me differently.

" Are you afraid?" It was simple question from him, but he obviously knew the answer and he just wanted to watch me squirm.

I felt my chin shoot up a notch as I met his gaze head on with my own. I tried to swallow back my anxiety and replace it with anger. Anger at myself for allow him to get to me.

" No," I said to him simply, my jaw tightening as I took a step forward, " I'm not afraid of you."

" You should be." It came out so confidently, his smile grew like a Cheshire cats until I could see rows of straight pearly teeth, " Do you not know who I am?"

Yes, I did know about him. How could I not after all that has happened recently? I did not know much about Norse mythology, only a little bit. All I knew about him was what the other had told me. I knew he was Thor's brother and that he wanted the strange cube called the Tesseract. I knew he came from another world from ours and that he was evil. I also gathered from some of the others that he was mad, and deliriously power hungry.

" I know a little," I admitted quietly, " and that's as much as I wish to know."

A brow rose at that, " And what do you know about me, I wonder?" He sounded genuinely interested to know the answer, almost in a suspicious way.

Without thinking, I began to speak, the image of Harry's face burning through my memory, " I know that you're a sadistic, cold hearted man who thinks it's funny to threatened innocent and harmless people."

I paused and took a breath, thinking maybe I had been foolish to say such a thing to him. But then I shrugged the doubt away. I did not care. What could he possibly do to me whilst he was trapped in a cage?

I expected fury for speaking back to him, but he neither got violent nor snarled at me. Instead he smiled again and took a step closer to the glass. There was a slight 'prowling' sense to his movement and it was more frightening that any sort of anger he could have thrown my way. I felt myself tense up as he moved closer, his eyes shining brightly like the glistening of frosted grass in springtime.

His lips quirked, " Oh, but I'm not a _mere man_," He held out is arms in an elegant sort of way, gesturing to himself, " I am so much more than that. And soon you will all come to realise it."

His words irked me for some reason.

" You seem confident." I stated in an almost bored tone, trying to sound disinterested in his self-adoration, " But there are others," I said to him, goading him, feeling confident that he could not reach me through the glass, that he would fail, " Good people who are going to stop you, to stand up to you."

Loki laughed. It was a tickling sound, melodious and light, but it held an underling lilt of something else in it, something dark, something forbidding. "You mean like that pathetic, geriatric old man back in Germany?"

That had my attention instantly. I froze and met his eyes, my eyes widening at the mention of Harry.

" Is that what mankind has come to?" he mocked to me, " Relying on their elderly and their women to do their fighting for them?"

Without thinking I reacted.

I shot forward towards him a stride or two, " Don't you dare slight Harry!" I practical shouted at him, feeling both protective for my old friend and outraged at this persons lack of respect for others, for the elderly, " He's done nothing to you." I was rambling before I could stop myself, " You don't know him. You don't know anything about him!"

Loki's smile fell away and his pale pointed features turned chillingly blank. Emotionless. Cold.

" Harry?" He spoke the name, lightly, softly, tasting it in his mouth before he tilted his head at me wolfishly, " So, he has a name does he?"

I realised my error instantly. I had just told our attacker my friend's name. I had given him a piece of information, a lead, a link to my life. I felt my stomach toil and roll in the center of my body. I could only hold my tormenters gaze and hope he would change the subject. No such thing happened though, as his next question was a personal one.

"You defend this Harry most fiercely." He asked it lowly, enigmatically, and I saw something dark flash across his bright eyes, " Is he relative of yours perhaps? Family? A loved one?"

I felt my throat tighten, dry with nerves, " He's a friend." It came out so quietly, I barely heard it myself.

He watched me for moment, his gaze bearing into me, searching me, reading me like book. His eyes were so empty, so cold, so hollow that I felt myself drowning in them, being absorbed by them. They had a power all of their own. It was though he could see deep inside of me, that he could know everything about me with just one look.

I swallowed nervously.

Loki's head lifted in an almost noble fashion. He perused me with his eyes and his lips curled in what could only be described as distain, before he turned his head away and stared into the rounded camera to the right of his see through prison.

" None of it matters, you know," he spoke slowly, quietly. I wasn't quite sure he was addressing me or the camera. He rotated his head back to me and I was taken aback by the sharp greenness of his orbs.

" In the end," He all but whispered, " You will all fall before me, simpering and begging for my mercy," He took another step closer to the glass and I had the overwhelming urge to take one back, " In the end, you will all be _mine_. You will all learn to obey me, to accept me, as your master, as your king, and as your ruler." He gave me a pointed look before his shook his head slowly and said surely, " I will spare _no one_."

I could only stand there, both in awe and fear at the creature standing before me. He was as mad as a hatter. He was cruel, cunning and yet at the same time charismatic. If I did not know who he was and what he had done, of what he planned to do, I would say he was a very charming and handsome man to look at. But behind his eyes I kept catching glimpses of things. Dark things. Haunting things. They were drawing me in, intriguing me. Yet at the same time I felt the frantic urge to move away, to leave and hope to never see his face again.

" Miss Manning." A low voice called from directly behind me.

I jumped, startled and whirled around on my feet to see Agent Coulson standing behind me. He was dressed in his immaculate dark suit and was looking at me with an empty expression.

" You should not be in here." He spoke, crisply, formally.

I felt heat flood to my cheeks in embarrassment. _How on earth was I going to explain all of this?_

" I'm sorry," I said apologetically, fidgeting awkwardly under his obvious stare, " I got lost."

It was part truth and part lie, but it seemed to work as Agent Coulson nodded to me before holding out his arm and gestured for me to follow him, " Follow me, Miss manning, I will show you back to your room."

I took a step towards him, wanting to get out of this awful place and stay out. However, I felt myself stopping and turning my head to glance back once more at the raven haired man behind the glass. Loki was watching us, with intelligent vibrant eyes that both put me on edge and pulled me in. He held my gaze for a second before lifting his features into cold cunning smirk.

" Until we meet again."

It wasn't a 'goodbye'. Anyone could see that. It was something much more, a promise and a reassurance that somehow, somewhere we would bump into each other again in this lifetime.

Without thinking any more on it, I turned and headed down the platform and out through the door I had entered through earlier and out into the corridor. I paused and waited for Agent Coulson to follow behind me. When he stepped from the room, he reached beside him and pressed a screen and some buttons. The door slid closed automatically behind him and I heard the telltale click of a lock falling into place.

He said nothing to me; he merely slid past me and began to walk down the hallway. Unable to do little else I followed him and allowed him to guide me back to my room. The walk was awkward and felt decidedly longer than earlier. We move our way through the endless corridors and I followed his lead like a lost puppy. I felt both relieved and ashamed that he had found me in _that_ room, with _him_.

The silence became oppressive and too much. Before I could stop myself, I was speaking.

" Agent Coulson," I started suddenly, and he neither acknowledged or turned to me as we walked, " I'm sorry, I didn't mean to end up in there. I got lost and then I heard people talking and before I could do anything he had seen me." I did not know why but for some reason I felt like I had a lot to explain for, that I had done some kind of wrong.

When Agent Coulson finally spoke he surprised me with his words, " Don't worry yourself, Miss manning." He seemed neither bothered nor peeved at the fact he had found me talking to the enemy, the very man I was supposed to hiding from, to be protected against. The agent's lack of response filled me with suspicion.

"I will inform Director Fury on the situation." He said as we finally arrived at the door to my room, " In the meantime," He advised, reaching into his pocket and handing me a small handheld phone, " try to keep to the main corridors, if you get lost again call for one of us, we will come and find you."

I nodded to him and gave him a small smile.

" Thank you." Was all I said to him.

I reached over to the handle of the door and opened it a slither. A hand on my elbow stopped me from opening it further. I frowned and turned back to him.

" Miss Manning," Agent Coulson gave me a pointed look before saying, " Whatever he has said to you, whatever he has told you, wipe it from your mind." At my confused look he ventured on, " Loki is known for his mastery at lying and deceiving others... Don't let him get to you."

I did not know what to say or what to think at this point. All I knew was that I wanted to get inside my room and just relax for a while, to think in peace.

I simply nodded to him, " I won't."

He nodded back curtly and removed his hand, " Enjoy the rest of your evening, Miss Manning."

I watched him as he strode away and disappeared around a corner further down the hallway. The moment he was gone I stepped into my room and shut the door, leaning my back against it with a sigh. I shook off my shoes and sat of the edge of the bed; my body bounced as I dumped myself on its edge. I lifted a hand and rubbed at the throbbing ache in my temples.

My thoughts were filled with such nonsense; I could not make either heads or tail of them; about this place, this situation, Fury, Steve, Loki. All of it! I felt confused, more confused than what I did this morning. The entire day had been so strange, so eventful and I wanted nothing more than to lie down in bed and sleep for a few hours, I wanted to bury myself in the covers. Most of all, I wanted to be in my own bed, back to my normal life. I wanted to see my dad, to let him know I was alright and I wanted to see Harry too. I wanted normality again. Just plain, boring, routine normality.

_I will spare no one. _

My eyes started to burn. A tear slipped down my face and fell onto the back of my hand.

I just wanted to go home.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here it is, finally! Chapter 6 is done and ready for all you lovely readers to indulge in. Thanks for being patient with me and waiting for so long. College is now finished and I await with bated breath for my results XoD **_**squee, **_**so exciting! **

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Even though I haven't had time to update chapters I have been planning and preparing for future chapters and all I can say is… I can't wait to get going with it. It's going to be good!**

**So here it is, Chapter 6 of my story called 'Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Let me know what you think of it so far! Don't forget to review as your comments mean the world to me and really motivate me!**

**Enjoy :0)**

**Let the madness commence!**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

_My body was in mind shattering agony. Icy coldness sliced and stabbed at me. It surrounded me. It entered my vision and filled my lungs, my ears, my mouth, my nose. It was everywhere. I could not escape it. It blanketed me and crushed me of all breath. My limbs felt heavy against its horrendous power. _

_Weakly, I felt my legs kicking, my arms reaching through the murky darkness. It was useless, futile, as there was nothing but me and my dark, watery grave. _

_My mind fought against what was happening, striving for strength, for air. My lungs burned, desperate for the oxygen it craved. A strange buzzing sound entered my ears, filling my brain, a warning bell of what was about to come. _

_I was dying. _

_And there was nothing to help me, nobody to reach out for me. The water was my only companion. _

_An eternal darkness started to slowly take over my senses. __My struggles slowed and I gradually began to surrender myself to the blackness. _

I gasped, wrenching myself from sleep. I shot upright, my lungs heaving in precious rich air as my senses began to awaken. I took in my surrounding with hazy unfocused eyes for a second; the various shapes and blurs slowly dissolving into the physical clearness of a familiar room. My room. The Hellicarrier.

I sighed heavily to myself in a mix between shock and relief.

_It had been a dream, just a dream_. I lifted a hand and rubbed at my face, trying to will sense and feeling back into my cold features. My skin was chilled to the touch, like a tombstone_. And no wonder_, I stated silently to myself, looking across to where I had been laid on the bed. I had been half sprawled across the top of the covers, with no quilt to blanket me, an arm above my head and my legs hanging over the edge of the bed. My fingers of my right arm were crippled with pins and needles from being above my head. My legs felt light and numb; I flexed them, trying to will the circulation back into them.

I sighed again to myself, a small mirthless laugh escaping my throat.

" It was just a dream," It came out hoarse with sleep.

Yes, it had been just a dream, but one I knew well. One I had had often since I was young. One that had haunted me from childhood, through my teen years and even in adulthood. The dreams of falling, floating, fighting in scalding icy darkness. A nightmare, but also a memory. A memory I had tried so hard to forget. A memory that every time I thought of it had sent stark fear rippling down my spine.

It had happened when I was ten years old, when it was the first week of December. I remember it had snowed heavily, covering the country with two to three feet of snow. It had been one of the rare moments when I disobeyed my father's orders and had sneaked out with a neighbour, a friend, to build a snowman in the local park. Zoe had been her name. She had been a year older than me but she had been my only true friend during childhood. She had been a friend 'I' had chosen, not one of my father's colleagues daughters or sons. Being so, it made it difficult for me to see her and for him to allow her to visit as she was seen as 'not good enough for his daughter' in his eyes.

On a whim we had ran out together, bounding and rolling in the pure white snow. It had been one of the most enjoyable and fun moments of my life.

That was until I had fallen through the ice.

There had been a lake, not overly big, but wide and nearly eleven feet deep. At such a young age I had only been small in size and I could not swim. Zoe and I had seen the frozen over lake, its surface glittering like that of a large glacial mirror, both dangerous and beautiful. To us, it had been another playground, another game for us to play together - a rink for us to dance on. Zoe had dared me to go out first, to be the first to perform. Without thinking I had stepped out, a few steps at first which soon became a metre or six. It had been all fun and games to us. I remember pausing, turning to look back at Zoe sat on the bank watching me, both us of giggling happily before it began to happen.

I had heard a strange cracking noise below my feet, the surface below me splintering dangerously until it final disappeared completely and I fell through into the watery depths below.

I snapped out the memory with a shiver and closed my eyes. The experience had been horrible and luckily for me a person passing by had come and helped us before it was too late, before I had died. My father had been livid when he had found out and ever since that day I never went into deep water again. I feared it. It filled me with dread; even if I was at the beach near the sea. And ever since that day I had the dreams, the tormenting nightmares that reminded me of it, of that day.

The buzzing noise in my head grew louder.

I frowned suddenly and paused. _Buzzing noise?_

I tensed, listening to the noise, trying to focus on it. It was like the buzzing sound one gets in the ears, like a sharp but almost soundless ringing. I found it strange as I could hear it clearly, continuously, as it had been in my dreams, yet it had not disappeared despite the fact I was awake now. I stretched my jaw, trying to remove or dislodged the sound, but nothing happened and it seemed to grow in volume. As I sat there for a further moment, the ringing evolved into an almost heavy thrumming sound. It filled my head and air around me, throbbing, almost vibrating softly with its almost electrical current.

I peered around the room, trying to understand where it was coming from, expecting to see something, anything to solve the riddle. But there was nothing, nothing out of the ordinary. I looked towards the doors with a frown. I did not know why I was looking in that direction but I felt, no, somehow _knew_ that that was the direction where the noise was coming from.

I stood up and moved towards the door. My chilled fingers gripped the handle as I turned it. As the door opened I slipped my shoulders through the gap and peered out into the empty corridor outside. There was no one there. Nothing.

I frowned further, becoming more perplexed and puzzled by the moment. Without caring that I probably looked like a car crash victim with my crumpled dress and messy bed hair, I slipped out into the corridor and began to follow the noise.

I had no idea where I was going. I simply followed my senses; my feet following their unspoken directions. The strange ringing, as I grew further down the hallway, began to intensify and no longer was a simple 'noise', but a feeling, a _sensation_. Like coolness trickling across my spine. Like fresh frosted air breezing across my nerves; cooling and yet repelling all at once. My feet moved automatically and followed it until it drew me into a familiar wider corridor. Up above I saw a familiar door and two people. I recognised them instantly as Agent Natasha Romanoff; with her red hair and black uniform, and Thor; with his golden head of long hair and heavy armour. They were facing away from me, heading towards the door and strode inside into the room beyond.

Then I began to hear voices talking.

With my curiosity piqued and the thrumming sound intensifying almost painfully, I moved closer to the doorway and began to listen.

" I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

" Because of him."

" Me?"

I began to recognise the voices talking.

" Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that levelled a small town." Director Fury spoke up, " We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out gunned."

" My people want nothing but peace with your planet." It was Thor that answered him, I could practically hear the protective streak in his voice.

" But you're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."

" Like you controlled the cube?" Steve joined in, his tone heavy with sarcasm.

They continued to argue amongst themselves and as they did this I slowly peaked around the side of the door and looked into the room. They were all there; Stark, Director Fury, Thor, Captain America, Natasha and Dr Banner. They did not even notice me at the door, even as I stepped away from its frame and into the room; they did not even glace in my direction.

" You're work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies." Thor proclaimed knowingly, " it is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war."

" A higher form?"

" You forced our hand." Fury answered easily, almost defensively, " We had to come up with something."

Stark was quick to answer with, " A nuclear deterrent, cause that always calms everything right down."

Fury turned to him, " Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark?"

I stopped paying attention to what they were saying to one another. My gaze suddenly wandered to the far side of the room and landed on a long shining object resting on the surface of a counter. The ringing in my ears grew louder, sharper. I took another step closer, keeping my distance away from the rest of the group, lest I draw attention to myself. My eyes were pinned on the object; it was long in length and curved at one end like a blade. Near the tip was a glowing blue emblem that shimmered like a flame of sapphires. Something crawled across the hairs of my neck as I drew another step closer, the object filling me with dread as I began to recognise it from somewhere. _But where?_

The more I looked at it the more I began to realise something. The buzzing noise. The thrumming. The vibrations in the air… it was coming from the strange staff on the table.

I felt something akin to dread fill my lungs, crushing me silently as I tore my eyes away and glanced over at the rest of the team. I had not known them very long, in fact I hardly knew them at all. But I knew from the instant I stepped into the room that something was amiss. They were behaving strangely. They were arguing amongst themselves; having not even seen me enter the room yet. This wasn't right. This was odd.

Something was wrong here.

" I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor stated rather than questioned.

" Excuse me," Director Fury was quick to reply, " did we come to your planet and blow stuff up?"

An all-out brawl of words ensued and the chaos began to grow.

" Are you boys that naïve, shield monitors potential threats," Natasha stated, as though trying to talk sense into the other males.

"And captain Americas on a threat warrant?" Banner answered her just as quickly.

I shifted my position to move closer and the moment I did Agent Romanoff turned towards me, seeing me for the first time. Her startled expression was quickly shuttered as she turned to Director Fury and gestured over towards me. He turned his dark head towards me and before I could say anything he was stepping towards me.

" Miss Manning?" It came out both surprised and displease from his lips, " you are not supposed to be in here."

The whole room grew quiet and silent as they all turned towards me and stared at me. The tense atmosphere that followed was thick and seemed to suffocate the room, almost feeding the odd vibrations still coming from the strange staff on the counter top.

I did not say anything in reply to Director Fury's statement; I simply glanced around the various faces around me, one at a time, trying to figure out what was happening. And why they could not hear the sounds coming from the glowing bladed staff.

I started to speak before I could stop myself, " What is going on?"

Director Fury ignored my question with a quiet shake of his head before he turned towards Natasha and spoke, " Agent Romanoff, would you escort Miss Manning and Dr Banner back to their..."

" Where?" Dr Banner stepped away towards the table, his dark gaze brooding and untrusting of the people standing around him, he lifted an arm in a gesture, "You're renting my room."

I heard Director Fury sigh lowly beside me before he turned fully to the taller male, "The cell was just..."

"In case you needed to kill me," Banner answered for him, knowing the answer, " but you can't," It came out deep, almost despairingly from him, " I know, I tried," at the strange looks the others gave him he began to explain, " I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the_ other_ _guy_ spit it out." His despairing look fell away into something else, something darker, something more turbulent, " So I moved on, I focused on helping other people," he began to step further away, his features growing tighter, his body poised as though sensing some unknown threat, " I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk."

He suddenly reached back, his hand grasping and lifting the glowing staff into his possession. The buzzing stopped, dead. The others around me tensed. I felt dread fall into the pit of my stomach like a heavy brick.

_This wasn't going to end well. _

I could see the change slowly taking over Dr Banner's person. His face, usually so calm and patient, grew taut, his brows deepening, his mouth drawing tight. His eyes grew wider, more wilder with each second that passed.

" You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff?" He addressed her directly, his hand tightened on the staff in his hands, his knuckles turning white, " You wanna know how I stay calm?"

Everyone shifted, moved, steady and ready for something I did not fully understand. I realised that Dr Banner was slowly losing part of his control. The others had mentioned he had an anger issue; one that would and could turn him into a giant green monster. I had been disbelieving of the story, thinking it impossible. But now that I was looking at him, watching him grow more disturbingly angrier, I began to believe in it.

I saw in the corner of my eye as Fury's hand fell down to his side to rest on the handle of a gun.

I swallowed heavily, my eyes skimming around the numerous faces around me. I felt my blood surge with frightening anticipation. Something was about to happened. Something devastating, and I felt helpless to stop it.

" Dr Banner," Steve spoke up suddenly, quietly, calmingly, " put down the sceptre."

I saw Dr Banner's head lift a notch. His eyes blazing. His grip tightening on the spear in his hold. A refusal. A motion of indignation, of challenge.

I did not want this to happen, for them to start fighting, for people to get hurt. I felt that I had to do something, quickly, to stop the events from moving into motion; I felt fear and alarm at what could potentially happen. I felt the hairs on my body lift up in reaction, the anxiety I was feeling was almost overwhelming. I also felt the need to calm, to sooth. It was a strange and abnormal response to the situation. But the more I watched Dr Banner the more I wanted to calm him, to reassure him, to help him regain control.

Without thinking I moved forward a step and reached out. My hand placed itself on the length of his lower arm; my fingertips brushed against heated skin and thick dark hair. I felt the edges of his rolled up shirt sleeves as he flinched at the sudden contact.

I felt something shift, stir, and swell inside of me. I felt it course through me and through him with alarming dexterity; something powerful and unusual.

" Please," it was all I could say to him as I lifted my gaze up to him.

The atmosphere around us thickened and slowed for a moment with something. I heard his strange inhalation of air as I touched him. I saw his sharp and aggressive features soften and fall down to me in something akin to surprise. His gaze then fell down to my hand still on his arm. His brow furrowed in question and I quickly removed my hand and stepped away, my cheeks heating at my own daringness. He continued to stare at me and I could not quite decipher what emotion crossed his face at that point. He finally lowered his gaze to the sceptre in his hands, puzzlement spreading across his strong features and… _was that fear I saw there as well?_

The moment broke and in that second I began to realise that the rest of the group was watching us, intently, almost curiously. They were staring at us; at Dr Banner and at me. It put me on the edge as I saw the intelligent and almost secretive gleam in Director Fury's dark orbs.

Silence stretched for what felt like minutes; empty and hollow minutes where they stared and neither of us spoke. Dr Banner was still looking at me, perplexed and somewhat still taken aback.

_Was my touch that strange? Why is everyone so quiet? What is going on?_

Suddenly, out of nowhere, something beeped loudly, sharply, from behind us. I jumped at the sound, my heart pounding as all of our attention turned and fell to the computer screen at the far side of the room. Dr Banner was the first of us to move; he reached back and placed the staff back onto the table before heading over to the computer desk.

" Sorry, kids. Looks like you don't get to see my party trick after all," he said almost dryly to us.

As the darker haired male sat at the desk and read the screen all of the others stepped closer.

" Has it located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

" I can get there faster," Stark spoke up already striding towards the door to leave.

" The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it." Thor tried to explain but the millionaire paid no attention to him and carried on walking.

As he passed by, Steve reached out a hand to stop him.

" You're not going alone," Steve said, determinedly.

Stark pushed his hand away and before I knew it the two males were nose to nose.

" You going stop me?" Stark asked calmly.

" Put on the suit, let's find out." Steve replied with a challenge.

" I'm not afraid to hit an old man," was Starks quirky reply.

" Put on the suit."

I looked away and towards Director Fury for his cue to get involved, only to find his eyes already on my face. He had a knowing glint to his gaze, something that put me on edge and filled me with suspicion. _What was going to happen? What did he know that I didn't? _

I did not have time to think on it as Dr Banner's quiet but low voice sliced through the moment.

" Oh my God."

Before either of us could say or do anything the world around us exploded into fireworks of sparks and flame. The ground vibrated and trembled dangerously as it began to crumble away from beneath my feet. The walls jostled, bowed and splintered under the force of the outburst of flames that entered the room. The booming sound that followed what deafening. Heat scorched at my flesh, reaching for me, trying to swallow me up whole. I heard voices shouting as bodies were thrown across the room and to the floor. The world around me whirled and tilted as the ground beneath my feet fell away into nothingness.

I heard someone shout my name and then…

I began to fall, into flames and darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello everyone! Here is another chapter for you guys. I really enjoyed writing this one, I had so much fun with it. Hopefully you will like it just as much I do. **

**I'm going to be honest, I was a bit disappointed as not many people reviewed my last chapter. It made me a bit worried that perhaps I had written something wrong or not made it as enjoyable as the other chapters. I was a bit in two minds as to whether I should continue with the story or not. The last thing I want to do is write fanfic and it doesn't meet up to the standards of the marvel/film fans.**

**Anyway, I decided to do another chapter. Hopefully it is more to everyones liking. I tried to keep it close with the film script and events whilst also trying to bring out some more of Jessica's character. **

**So here it is, Chapter 7 of my story called 'Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Don't forget to review and let me know what you think of it so far! **

**Enjoy :0)**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

I was falling, quickly. I felt gravity pull at me and dragging me down into the unknown. A lump formed in my throat. My legs kicked out instinctively as I tried to find the ground that should have been below me; but it wasn't. My hair flew in all directions as the wind caught at me and made me breathless. I fell for what felt like a whole minute, but it was in fact only a few seconds. I landed, harshly and heavily on metal flooring. I cried out as my body landed with a clang on the steel surface; my hip and head smashed against its hardness, sending my senses swirling with stars. I laid there for second, trying to gather myself and will the wind back into my lungs, to will away the agonising shards of pain the rippled through my limbs.

Finally, I lifted my head with a breathless gasp. I blinked, pushing away the stars from my vision and then looked around at my surroundings. All around me were large sections of broken piping, railings and sheets of metal. Up above me I could see a large opening; it was the huge hole in the platform I had fallen through. I could hear voices up above shouting, yelling at one another as footsteps ran in various directions. To my left I both saw and felt the roaring flames of a fire; its tall and crackling flames slowly growing in size to engulf everything in its path.

Smoke spread like wispy hands in my direction. I coughed as a thick plume of smoke entered my lungs, choking me.

" Miss Manning?" I heard a voice call to me from somewhere in the dimness.

" Y… Yes?" I wheezed hoarsely out in reply; relief flooding me as I realised I was not alone, " Yes!"

I heard someone coughing, followed by the sound of something creaking and a strange guttural noise, like that of a moan.

" Miss Manning?" The voice came to me again, clearer and more familiar to my ears.

I moved, and then flinched at the pain that flashed through me. I shifted my body, slowly straightening myself into a stand. My legs wobbled and buckled underneath my suddenly heavy weight. White hot pain speared through me, as though right through the very bones of my left leg.

I turned towards the direction where the voice had come from. Behind me was a barricade of fallen and splintered steel that separated me from the room beyond.

" Natasha!" I shouted out suddenly, formalities pushed aside for the moment. I began to hobble over towards it, yet also tried to keep my distance from the heated flames that tried to reach for me, " Are you alright?"

I heard the low groan again from the other side. My heart shuddered a beat at the thought of someone being hurt, trapped inside… perhaps even dying?

" I hope so." Was the breathless reply I heard from her, so low in fact that I barely heard it, " You… You need to get out of here." I heard the determination in her voice, the need for me to listen and follow her orders, "Go and find the others!"

I paused and frowned. _How could I leave her? What if she needed help_? I kept hearing the occasional groan of pain from the other side and before I could stop myself I was speaking.

" Natasha," I swallowed, pain slicing through me again as I moved a step closer to the rubble, " Is something wrong? Are you hurt?"

I received no reply, which instantly put me on edge. I felt my heart freeze in my throat at how quiet the other side of the barricade had become. I felt my throat thicken with worry and in agony. I was torn between what to do. To stay and try and help? Or to listen to Agent Romanoff and find the others?

Out of nowhere, a deep and very masculine cry of pain shattered the silence and resonated straight to the canals of my ears. The sound was so heavy and low that it reminded me of a howl of a wild animal.

I swallowed my fear and called out again, " Natasha?"

_Please answer me,_ I chanted mentally to myself, _please tell me what to do. I don't know what to do._

All of a sudden I heard her speaking, her voice low and quiet, yet she wasn't speaking to me, but rather someone else in there with her. I could hear the fear in her tone even from other side of the metal.

" Doctor?" I heard the tremble in her voice, " Bruce, you gotta fight it." I heard her trying to move, followed by her gasp of pain, " This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay. Listen to me!"

The strange groans of pain intensified, they grew in volume and became jagged almost desperate in sound. A loud bang broke the quietness, making me jump. The noise had been so sudden and loud that I shot back a step. _What the hell was going on in there?_ I thought, almost on the brink of pure panic.

The doctor, Bruce Banner, was obviously in there with her. He seemed to be having some sort of seizure or fit as I could hear his heavy pants, his body shuddering, clanging against the flooring. Was it a seizure though? For a moment I thought back to my first day on the Hellicarrier when Mr Stark had introduced me to everyone. The others had described Dr Banner as having a strange malady, an anger issue, where he would and could turn into a raging green monster called a 'Hulk'. I had been disbelieving of the whole story; as to me it had seemed an impossible almost child-like story. But now, now that I could hear his struggles, now that I could hear the fear in Natasha voice - I was starting to believe it.

"We're gonna be okay. Right?" I heard Natasha try and reason with him, determinedly, trying to reassure him, " I swear on my life, I will get you out of this, you will walk away and never..."

"Your life!"

The two words were yelled, like the roar of a lion. I felt my heart rise up into my throat, for it had sounded like Dr Banner… only different. More menacing, more frightening and less human.

The growls grew, rumbling out until they become full blown cries of pain. I heard fabric being ripped. The guttural cries where filled with so much conflicting emotion: fear, despair, aggression. They were tearing at my being, making me want to somehow help them but I couldn't. I could not reach them. They were trapped. And I was so very afraid. My legs were buckling wildly. My heart was stammering like a rhythm-less melody.

A loud bang sounded and rattled the foundations of steel around me. Followed by another. And then another.

" Bruce." It was whispered, a plea, a prayer.

And then I heard Natasha start to run. Her steps light, unsteady but quick. However the _thing_, whatever it was that followed her, wasn't. Booming sounds came from the feet that followed after her. The crashing and clattering of steel splintered the atmosphere, telling me that whatever _it _was… it was big!

A beastly roar ripped through the air, finding my ears instantly, sending fear spearing down my spine.

_Holy mother of god._

Through hazy and wide eyes I looked for an escape. The fire seared at me, burning my flesh even at a distance, reminding me that I had to leave quickly before I became engulfed in its embrace. To my right was a small set of stairs under a fallen thick pipe. I quickly ran for it, my hair and worn dress billowing madly as I tried to crawl my slender body under it. I dragged myself under it and pulled myself out on the other side on my sore knees. Ignoring the pain I shot up the stairs, uncaring of where I was going. I only knew I had to find someone; anyone to help Natasha and Dr Banner.

An array of sparks shot and spat at me from a broken set of wires above my head as I ran out of an open doorway. Once in the corridor I began to run to the right as though the devil himself was chasing me. Adrenaline coursed through me, filling me, giving me courage and speed as I twisted this way and that through the various corridors.

I took another sharp left and suddenly I was in a wider more familiar corridor. Up ahead I saw two people, a man and woman in uniform, running in the opposite direction from me.

" Get to the control room!" One shouted to the other.

"Code red! Code red!" I saw the woman call into her ear piece as she ran, " We have a breach! I repeat, we have a breach!"

Wincing slightly, I started after them, trying to follow them, to get close enough to call to them for help. They took a hallway to the right and I followed them, unable to keep up with their fast paced steps.

" Wait!" I tried to call out to them. My leg was twinging madly, my throat was dry with anxiety.

They did not answer. They did not even slow or notice me, but rather they kept on running down the corridor and took another corner away from me and out of sight.

Sweat beaded at my temple as I tried to push myself onwards after them. My leg was throbbing with white hot discomfort; right from the knee down to my ankle from where I had fallen on it.

I gave a raspy cry of frustration and paused for second, leaning on a wall to gather some of my breath and sanity back.

Suddenly, I heard heavy footsteps approaching. I felt my lips lift in a small smile of relief and took a step forward to follow the sound. _Someone was here! Someone was here who could help?_

The moment the small group of men turned into the corridor, I froze. There were three of them, three men, dressed in all black with strange large guns in their hands. They wore even strange masks, like gas masks, across their faces, shielding their features from me. They move with a quietness that put me on alert. They moved slowly, silently, almost like a stalk as they practically prowled their way down the corridor.

These were not normal men. They did not work for S.H.I.E.L.D as they did not wear the designated uniform. Neither did they look like they were running to help and assist the rest of the panicked team. They appeared on high alert, listening, stepping carefully with their guns poised and at the ready to attack.

My lungs seized in panic and without thinking any more on it I quickly shot into an alcoved section of a doorway; hiding my body out of sight. I held my breath, listening, waiting for their next move. I peered carefully around the side of the wall and watched them. The group paused at the end of the corridor that the two S.H.I.E.L.D members had run through earlier. I saw the lead male lift a leather clag hand and signal to the rest of the group that they had found their target and to follow him. Finally, they began to move away and down the corridor; away from me and my hiding place.

I let out my breath in a long winded sigh of relief.

_That had been close, _I thought to myself shakily. Peeling myself away from the wall I began to tread carefully down the hallway, following where the others had disappeared, but also keeping well back in case they were still close by. I felt my body trembling, energy soared through my veins, driving me and lending me courage. I was so afraid, so wired up to run and to fight. But which one, I did not know.

The firing of guns went off in the distance, drawing my attention to it. They were far away, but their heavy continuous booms found their way to my ears and reminded me of the danger that could be lurking around any and every corner.

I bit my lip and worried at it with my teeth. _Where were the others?_ I questioned to myself, unsure of the answer, _I still haven't seen any of them yet?_

A strange and eerie silence suddenly took a hold of the atmosphere, causing my senses to become hyper sensitive, instinctive, as though expecting something to happen, for something to jump out of the walls at any moment and grab at me.

It was then that it happened...

A voice, low and clear, yelled from somewhere in the distance.

The sound came so suddenly that I jumped, startled. The hair on my arms rose up in reply to the low and resonating noise. The voice was loud, deep, cultured and yet oddly familiar. I recognised it instantly.

_Thor._

Without thinking twice, I span on the spot and started back the way I had come, following were the voice had come from. I tried to ignore the pain that slice through my calf and knee. My heart hammering loudly in my ears as I pushed myself to run once again down the steel corridors.

I pulled short at a crossroads, unsure of which way to turn. I took a few steps down to the left but then a heavy bang splintered and echoed from somewhere behind me. I instinctively whirled and ran in the other direction, taking the right corridor instead. I followed its familiar curve, my feet banging against the surface underneath them. My mind was in chaos as to what was happening, of what I should do. My main thought was that I had found at least one of the team – Thor. I just silently hoped that he was alright.

As I continued to run, I heard voices suddenly. I paused, pulling my feet to a sharp stop before a clear glass door. A very hauntingly familiar clear glass door. Beyond the glass was a platform, followed by (what I could see from my position) a curved circular room.

Unease rippled down my spine, chilling me. I knew this room. I had been here before not so long ago. I had silently wished never to have to enter it again. However as the voices inside grew in volume I began to realise the truth. I would have to go inside the room. Thor was inside. Only he could help me find my way, to help. Or it may be that he needed help himself?

" NOOO!" I heard Thor's shout once again. It was so loud, so filled with despair and anger that it pulled at me.

Without thinking, I sprang for the door and tore it open.

My heart thundered. My breathing escalated; both through panic and emotional stress. My hair whipped around me as a heavy wind blew at me as I stepped into the room. My feet flew across the metal platform, around the railings and towards the second platform that led to the glass container I knew would be sitting at the centre of the room.

Only, something was not right.

The glass container was there, sitting in the middle of the platform like usual. Only gone was the inky glacial eyed god that usually occupied it. Instead, it was Thor who now stood in it. He was facing sideways away from me, glaring at something on the other side of the room. He was trapped inside of the glass, the doors firmly sealed into placed, his hammer lying uselessly in his hand. A small web like pattern decorated a section of the glass – where he had obviously tried to smash it.

My throat clogged, my heart soared at seeing him, a familiar face, a potential saviour.

" Thor." it came out of my mouth before I could stop it. I was beyond relieved.

I watched him turn to me, his golden head rotating in my direction as he took me in, standing a few metres away from his prison.

I smiled at him, elation soaring through my chest. I took a few steps closer. Recognition clouded his sky coloured orbs. Then, they started to change. His eyes darkened, swirling from bright with surprise to dark with concern and… was that fear I saw as well?

" No."

I paused in my step, taken aback by the sudden protest that came from his lips.

" Thor?" I took another tentative step, unsure and uncertain of why he was so unsettled, so disturbed at my presence. _I was there to help him?_

" No!" He roared at me suddenly, his eyes skimming to the other side of the room again before landing back to me. Their blueness bore into me, telling me something, warning me. _But of what?_

He stepped forward, his hand tightening on his hammer.

" You cannot be here." He said, slowly, clearly, determinedly.

I frowned at that. My elation and excitement at seeing him dimmed until it formed confusion and puzzlement.

Once again I saw his attention shift over to the other side of the room and unable to help myself I followed his gaze.

There was nothing there.

The entire room was empty save for Thor and myself. His brother, Loki, was gone. Where Thor was looking I could see a strange stand on the other side of the glass container. It was a control panel of some sorts as it had various buttons and wires to it.

_The controls to the container?_

My feet began to move on their own accord, leading me around the clear cell towards the control stand. The blonde haired demigod inside was so busy looking about the room he did not even notice me move around him.

" H… Hang on," I said to him, trying to reassure him, " I will get you out."

" No." He all but growled back to me, drawing close towards the glass, " There is no time, you must leave. Now."

I ignored his orders. I felt indignation and pride well up inside of my chest. I did not understand why he did not want my help. I did not understand how he had managed to get himself trapped in there in the first place. Loki must have somehow managed to get him inside and lock the door before escaping the Hellicarrier? I did not understand why Thor hadn't tried to escape already. Why was he waiting? Why didn't he try to break the glass some more? Why was he stalling?

I tried to clear my mind of the chaotic mess that it was. I felt my hand trembling as I lifted it towards one of the buttons on the panel. I did not know which one to press. I did not know which one would open the door, or worse. I was so nervous. So afraid. Adrenaline was like a heady drug flaming through my veins.

Undecided, I lifted my gaze, intending to ask Thor for advice as to which one I should press. But the moment I began to move my eyes towards him I caught sight of something, and my body froze.

A body lay sprawled across the floor on the other side of the room. I had not seen it before when I had entered. But now I could. It was laid across the floor. A dark suit was fitted perfectly across the body, but it was also torn at the chest. Glistening crimson blood seeped from the wound, pouring across the figure and onto the floor in a darkened puddle. It was not the fact that there was a body on the floor that caused my heart to stop. It was the fact that I recognised the body. The middle aged face was pale and still even in death.

It was Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.

He was dead.

" Oh my god." It came out of my throat, light and hoarse with emotion. My vision blurred with tears as a lump began to form in my throat. I lifted a shaking hand to my mouth as a sob began to well up from inside.

Agent Coulson had been one of the few people who had been friendly to me in this strange place. He had been both supportive and protective of me. He had always thought of my comfort and welfare since this whole mess had started back in Germany.

And now he was _dead_.

I tore my gaze away and turned to Thor who was looking at me with a prideful but almost regretful look to his strong masculine features.

" Go."

That was all Thor said to me.

It was a simple word that made me want to run and hide away until someone came to find me, to take me home. I wanted to listen to him. I was not a hero, or a god. I wasn't anyone special. I was just girl who had somehow managed to get dragged into this whole mess. I couldn't do this anymore.

_No._I shook my head suddenly, sharply, pushing the negative thoughts from my head. I was not going to be a coward. Thor needed my help. The least I could do was get him out so he could help the others.

I shook my head again, determinedly before lifting my eyes and giving him a pointed look, " I'm not leaving you here."

Quickly, I turned back to the controls and scanned the various buttons and switches on it. Whichever one I would choose had to be the right one. I only had one chance to pick the right button. But which one? I saw a big rounded red one and considered choosing that one for a moment, but then I quickly changed my mind. _Red, means stop. Red, means danger._ I recited mentally to myself. _Red, means 'not this one', Jessica._

I saw another rounded button, similar to the other but it was smaller and a dark green colour._ Green is good. Green means 'go'. _I lifted my hand; it shook slightly as I reached out to press it. _Please let it be the right one._

I held my breath and began to slowly lower my fingers…

It was then that it happened…

Something touched my throat. Something cold. Something solid. Something very _sharp_.

It dug itself into the naked flesh of my neck, stinging but not yet piercing the skin. The air stirred, thickened around me. Thor shifted in the corner of my vision. A strange coldness crept across my back. It was then that I realised that I was not alone.

Someone was behind me.

And I had very good inkling as to _who_ it was.

" So," The voice, cultured and cunning, breathed its way across my shoulder, chilling me, " We meet again."

I froze. My heart stopped.

_Loki._


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hi everyone! Just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that reviewed for the last chapter. All your supportive and kind comments really did blow me away. ****I hope you are all enjoying it so far. **

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, as it was full of... Loki-ness. I hope you like it as much as I did writing it. I hope I have done a good job keeping loki in character and that I do him justice. **

**So here it is, Chapter 8 of my story called 'Of Mischief and Madness'**

**Let me know what you think of it so far! Don't forget to review as your comments mean the world to me and really motivate me!**

**Enjoy :0)**

**Let the madness commence!**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**-o-o-o-o-o-**

I was frozen in position. I did not dare to move, to breathe or to blink. The atmosphere was tangible, almost a living breathing thing around me. It was dense, almost stuffy with the fact that there was someone standing behind me. And not just anyone…

It was _him_. Loki.

My heart was making strange palpitations in my chest. Sweat was forming at my temples, reminding me of my fear; almost mocking me of it.

Slowly, carefully, I began to turn and face my opponent.

I lifted my head, up and up, my neck straining back until my wide eyes met his face. The moment my eyes met his, my breathing caught in my throat.

_Good god he was tall!_ I thought to myself as my head craned back to meet his gaze head on. The last time we had spoken, it had been at a distance, with him inside of the container and me safely on the outside. _But now?_ He truly was something to behold. He stood a good head or two taller than me – I would guess that his height easily cleared the six foot region. He was tall in height, but he was not broad with muscle. He was slender, almost aristocratic looking. His legs were long in their black leather trousers. His chest was sleek and covered with a black leather tunic that criss-crossed across the expanse of his torso. A long black leather coat covered him from shoulders to shins; the edges of his sleeves and collar were decorated with gold's and greens; reminding me that I was in fact standing before a god, royalty of another realm. Not just a normal ordinary man.

His jet black hair was glossy and almost feathery looking. It was slicked back away from his face and across the back of his head until it flicked around his ears.

What really had my attention though were his eyes. His face. Before, in our past meeting, I had considered him to be a handsome man, perhaps even attractive. Now that he was standing up so close directly before me, with no glass to separate us, he was devastatingly beautiful. His skin was somewhat pale and smooth, almost like intricately carved stone. His features were angular, masculine and sharp looking. But there was a certain soft almost boyish look to them that gave him the allure of pleasantness, rather than being the enemy.

His eyes however; I swallowed as I took them in. They were a jumble of many things. They were bright, illuminous and expressive. But they were also chilling, mysterious, concealing and very… _empty?_ His eyes were a brilliant green shade; too dark to be a blue, but too light to be a hazel shade. They reminded me of polished Chinese jade stones.

I finally managed to tear my eyes away from him and lowered them to the weapon in his hand. His sceptre. The exact same strange glowing staff from the other room Dr Banner and the others had been in. _But how was that possible? How did he get it?_

Its bladed tip was pointed right at me, pressed against the bare column of my neck. It neither wavered nor increased in pressure as I stood there before him. His long fingered hand was effortlessly holding its weight. His lean arm was unmoving and strong. The armoured guards on his wrists glinted gold and green hues under the bright fluorescent light of the room.

" I would not do that if I were you," His chilling voice reached me, snapping me out of my wanderings and back into cold reality. The blade at my throat dug in slightly as he gestured with his other hand for me to step away from the panel, " If you please."

It wasn't a request. He wasn't asking nicely. He was_ telling_ me, demanding that I move out of his way or be sliced down directly where I stood.

Without thinking twice, I moved my hand away slowly from the control panel, my fingers shaking as I dropped them down to my side. I carefully stepped to the side and moved away, my feet light and quiet. His arm followed me, and with it the sceptre in his hand.

I swallowed, heavily and met his eyes again.

His thin but full lips curved secretively; a knowing and cunning smile creeping across his pale features.

He gave a small low chuckle in his throat.

" Very good," He cooed at me darkly, before his eyes flashed over me, " I do enjoy a female who is possessed of proper humility and obedience in my presence."

My chin lifted at notch at that, but I said nothing. I wasn't a fool. I could not fight this man, this strange god-like man who had more strength than a dozen men put together. I had seen the way he had effortlessly fought Captain America and the others in Germany. I did not stand a chance against someone like him. I was but an insect compared to his power. But nonetheless, his words stung me and wounded some hidden part of my womanly pride.

The blade dug in further and I winced under its pressure. Any further and I was sure it was going to start drawing blood. Perhaps that was what he wanted? Perhaps he wanted to see my blood flow and to bathe in it to slate his bloodthirsty appetite?

Loki's voice crawled over me as he said, " It is but a _small_ pity that you will have to die with the others."

My hands fisted, flexing with irritation. It was one thing to frighten me, to absolutely petrify me and threaten me with death. But to stand there and mock me of my fear and then treat me like I was unimportant, nothing more than a 'mere human' in his eyes. It was too much. I felt something start to boil in me. Something strange and unfamiliar. Something I rarely experienced.

Whatever it was, Loki saw it. His lips twisted further, the corners lifting into an almost cold and indifferent smile.

I did not have time to react to it, to him, as it was Thor that decided to speak up next.

" I warn you, brother," the golden haired males voice growled from the other side of the glass container, his light blue eyes watching his brother carefully, " If you touch her…"

Loki gave a small and somewhat derisive sneer, " What?" He turned to his brother suddenly, mocking him, " Your threats are empty, _oh great son of Odin." _There was a strange bitterness in his words as he said them. " Your allies have become few and the war is close at hand."

Loki's words chilled me. He spoke so lowly, so distastefully about us, about our world. He seemed to have a clear detachment and dislike for us 'mortals'. He did not even look at me as he spoke about his war. My life, along with many others, was not important to him; he spoke as though I was not even there at all. It was a frightening thought. That despite his elegant looks and intelligent way of speaking, he was in fact, quite mentally unstable.

_I had to do something_, the thought sliced through my mind like a dagger, warning me, enticing me to plan, to act. I had to somehow get away, to warn the others. I quickly glanced over at the stairs to the doorway. I was only hoping I could make it, otherwise, I was as good as dead.

I saw the dark haired gods arm slacken as he addressed his brother further.

"The mortals…" he explained, easily, " …they will fall before me, in awe or in pieces if need be." Loki laughed lightly again with confidence, "And you cannot do anything to stop me."

Unknowingly to its owner, the blade moved away from my skin. It fell a mere hairs length away from me; just enough space and time for me to make my decision.

_Now!_

I took the moment. Without thinking, I acted…

I barely had conscious thought of what I was doing. One moment I was stood there frozen, under the tip of the weapon, the next I was moving.

My arm swung upwards with all the strength I could muster, my elbow almost dislodging as I rammed it into the length of the sceptre, shoving it away from me.

_He was strong._

It moved, only barely. It swung a few inches to the side. The sudden impact caused the raven haired demigod to shoot his head around towards me. His eyes flashing brightly.

I took my chance. I took advantage of the few precious seconds he gave to me in his surprised state.

I ducked. My hair whipping. My dress flying.

I shot under his outstretched arm.

I lifted my leg, held my breath, and then rammed my knee into the unprotected 'Y' of his groin.

_Wham!_

I saw Loki's eyes widened. Then his legs buckled and his back arched over slightly at my sudden and unpredicted attack.

He did not seem in pain for very long, he recovered quickly. He seemed unfased and unharmed by the strike – only taken aback.

Panicked, I took another shot at him. My hand whipped up, fast and furious. Because he was somewhat bent towards me, I hit my mark fairly easily. The heel of my palm sliced up and crashed into the delicate bridge of his nose.

_Crack!_

His head shot back and his inky hair flew around him with the motion. His spear fell down to his side, the tip clanging to the floor, as his other hand came up to hold his face.

A growl formed low in his throat…

" Run!" Thor practically roared at me, and I needed no further encouragement to do as I was told.

I began to run. Adrenaline pumped headily through my system as I quickly dodged past the towering male in front of me. I shot around the container, not even looking back once. I tried to spring for the stairs to the upper platform. My feet were pounding, almost tripping over themselves, trying to gain speed and distance. _I needed to get to the door, quickly!_

I had barely made it to the bottom of the steps before I saw _it._

Something bright and golden flashed from beside me in the corner of my eye. A tall slender figure appeared. And then another, from the other side. And then another in front of me, on the stairs.

It was Loki. But not just one Loki, there was _five_ of him!

I skidded to halt, my lungs aching, my heart pounding. I looked up the steps and to my sides to the towering _Loki's_ that now surrounded me. Emerald eyes seared at me, burning into me from every face that stood around me. They stepped closer, creating a perimeter around me, blocking off my escape route. To my left. To my right. Up front and behind me. He was everywhere!

I swallowed and shot back a step in fear. Everywhere I moved I only seemed to get closer to one smirking face or another. They were smiling at me; an unpleasant and almost menacing flash of pearly straight teeth. I span in a circle, trying to keep them away, trying to find a way out as they all stepped closer and formed a circle around me of golden light.

I breathed heavily, both from running and pure terror. I turned to face the container where Thor was standing inside, watching broodingly. His hand was almost white around the massive hammer in its grip.

An almost airy ripple of laughter came from Loki's tall form. Both Thor and I looked over to him. He was still stood where I had left him on the other side of the container. His dark head was tilted back towards the ceiling, his hand still holding his face. His shoulders danced as he chuckled deeply in his throat.

Slowly, he lowered his hand away, straightened and turned to face me. His emerald eyes almost twinkled at me as he flashed me a smile.

I swallowed, thickly. My heart thudded anxiously in my chest. Sweat beaded at my brow. My breathing was heavy, from running and from fear. Unlike Loki. He seemed absolutely fine despite the fact I had just attempted to break his nose and 'baby maker'. He was not breathless like I was. He was not even slightly dishevelled. There was not a mark or scratch to be seen on his smooth skin.

His icy eyes told me everything. For inside of them was a hidden message, an oath, a promise of retaliation and punishment.

" Silly mortals," He spoke to his brother, but had yet to take his attention from me, " they never learn do they?" It wasn't really a question, more like a statement; almost like the scolding a parent gives to a child.

Fear swamped me, it surged dangerously through my blood stream, filling me entirely with it. The grinning Loki's around me did not move or step towards me to attack, but rather they watched me, waiting for me to try my second attempt to flee.

" Now…" Loki broke through the sudden silence and turned away from us and towards the panel beside him, " … where was we?"

He lifted a hand and let it hover across the buttons…

" Don't!" I shot forward a step, my mind frantic and desperate to stop him, to do something. Anything! The moment I moved, however, I felt as well as saw the identical bodies around me shift and move. Before I knew it, I had half a dozen glowing spears pointing at me.

I froze to the spot instantly, not daring to take another step. I could only watch with widened eyes at the scene playing out before me.

_Surely he wouldn't do this?_ I thought to myself in panic, _Surely he would not try and kill his own brother? He couldn't!_

The two brothers were staring at one another; one mocking, the other glaring. There was a silent transfer between them that I could not fully understand. There was some inner message in their shared eye contact, something only they could understand, as siblings.

The silence dragged on.

Thor said one word; a promise and a plea all at once.

" Loki…"

Loki pressed the button… and the container dropped.

" No!" A desperate cry shattered the quietness and I suddenly released it came from my own mouth.

I stood there, filled with a variety of conflicting emotions. One moment Thor was there in the container and the next he was gone, falling to his death below. A huge empty space now occupied the centre of the room where the glass cell had been sitting. It was a scene that was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.

I could feel the hairs on my arms standing in horror of what I had just seen. My knees buckled, wobbled underneath me and it took all my power to keep upright. My body trembled as tears flooded the edges of my vision. I just simply stood there, looking at the empty space. Angry. Shocked. Surprised. Hollow.

The bodies around me lowered their spears and stepped back. But then a new figure took their place. Loki advanced towards me until he was standing right in front of me, no more than a few metres away.

Shivering, I sniffled and slowly lifted my gaze up towards his. My neck strained back and the moment our eyes met I felt the overwhelming surge of dread and hate burn through me. He was watching me, intensely, solemnly, as though calculating something, puzzling something out in his mind. I wanted to attack him, to hit him, to claw his eyes out. But I didn't dare, I was far too afraid.

" I told you, did I not?" Loki purred silkily to me, almost softly, " That I would spare _no one_." He prowled closer and lifted the arm that was holding the sceptre, bringing it closer towards me, " You should have listened."

It all happened so fast. Before I could think or breathe. Before I could run or move or fight; his slender hand shot out and snagged its way into my hair, pulling on it viciously until my head was yanked back and I gasped in pain. My back bowed under the power of his strength. He pulled so roughly, so suddenly that it felt like particles of my hair were ripping themselves from the roots, right from the very flesh of my skin.

He stepped closer, so close in fact we were almost chest to chest. I was bent, submissively, helplessly under his tight hold. My head barely came to the middle of his chest as his tall armoured body practically towered over and engulfed me.

My hands moved instinctively; one trying to pry back at the guards on his wrist, trying to tear his fingers away from my hair. The other was against his chest, trying to push against him, trying to create distance away from him.

I whimpered low in my throat at the pain; trying to hide back the sob that was rising up, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeing me in pain.

I did not realise he had moved his head down and towards me until I heard and felt his whisper against the vulnerable shell of my ear.

" And now…" it came out light and airy; the warm blast of his breath causing me to shiver, "…it is _your_ turn."

Something touched me. Something pressed into the centre of my chest. Something heavy and sharp and strangely cold.

I looked and saw that Loki had placed the bladed tip of his sceptre on me and it was now starting to glow an alarmingly bright blue colour. I had no time to react. I became instantly paralysed, unable to step away or move. My arms fell limply to swing at my sides as I grew weightless into his hold.

I could only watch, with fearful anticipation, as the sceptre began to thrum and radiate with bright illuminating light. It ran its way down the pointed tip and slowly absorbed itself inside of me. I felt it. It seemed to creep into me, slowly freezing me from the inside out. Like icy waves of fog, the power washed over me, trickling and consuming me into its depths. It was almost like… _drowning in an icy lake._

My mind went into a frenzy. Desperate. Wild. Pleading for an escape, to prevent the spreading of the coolness through my body. I was slowly losing myself, my brain felt like it was splintering, not entirely under my control. Like something else was starting to take its place, filling in the gaps.

I whimpered again, so quietly that it was barely a sound at all.

" Shhh…" I barely registered Loki's voice speaking to me within the swell of the frosty power around me, his lips against my ear, " Do not fight it... Submit to me."

_NO! __I did not want this!_ I thought to myself wildly,_ I did not want this to happen!_

I focused, regaining a small margin of reality back inside of myself. The moment it happened, I was swamped with memories. Memories of my dad, of Harry; their faces permeated the mist. _I had to fight this! I had to fight Loki's power! I had to get home!... I wanted to go home!_

As though answering to the unspoken call from my soul, something began to happen. Something inside of me stirred, rippled, evolved slowly into life from inside of me. Something began to throb steadily, growing in intensity, something from the very essence of my body, my being.

I knew this _feeling!_ I had experienced it before on many occasions; but never as strongly as I did now.

_The touch of a kind hand upon mine… Placing my own hand on a thick and somewhat hairy arm…_

I closed my eyes tightly, and focused on the swelling sensation inside of me. I listened to it, practically fed off of it. I could feel it warming me, dissolving the ice that was forming inside of my chest, defrosting it slowly until I could feel myself breathing again.

The coldness was leaving me.

I pried open my eyes and looked at the sceptre. The strange blue glow was weakening, almost stopping?

I felt my tormentor shift…

" What…?"Loki's voice reached me and was darkened with confusion.

I felt empowered, charged with the abnormal warmth in my body. I flexed my fingers, almost smiling to myself when they moved and obeyed my wish. I lifted my hand, and without fully understanding of what I was doing, I placed it onto the length of the sceptre, directly above Loki's hand.

I watched in a mixture between awe and anxiety as something both wonderful and terrifying happened.

The cerulean glow paused, and then, ever so slowly, starting to move in the opposite direction from the tip… straight towards its owner.

I heard him give a breathless gasp and my eyes shot up towards his face.

His pointed and slender features were drawn tight; confused and somewhat afraid at the steady swirl of power that was surging quickly towards his hand.

" This is…?"

Within that very second, he dropped the sceptre, as though it was a scalding piece of coal from a fire.

Before I had any time to prepare myself I was flung away from him, my body collapsing to the floor, to my knees. Loki shot back a few steps and away from me.

His clever bright orbs flashed from weapon and then to me. I could only watch as a mixture of barely held back emotions crossed over his perfect face. But there was one emotion, the one look that caught me in its web and filled me with dread…

Victorious realisation.

" So..." Loki's tone was ominous and yet alluring with knowledge, " ...that is why they brought you here."

I frowned, beyond confused.

_What the hell was going? What was he talking about?_


End file.
